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DESICCATED ALIMENTART VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



REPORTS '^^^^ 



BOARDS OF NAVY OFFICERS, 



CONVENED BY ORDER OF THE 

liON. WILLIAM A. GRAHAM, 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. 

AT THE U. S. NAVY YARD, NEW YORK, IN NOV. 1851, 
AND AT WASHINGTON CITY, IN MAY, 1852, ' 

TO EXAMINE 

CERTAIN DESICCATED ALIMENTARY VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, 
PREPARED, AFTER THE PROCESS OF M. MASSON, CHIEF GARD- 
NER OF THE CENTRAL SOCIETY-OF HORTICULTURE OF 
FRANCE, BY CHOLLET «fe Co., No.^^UE MARBEUF, PARIS, 
AND, AFTER THE PROCESS OF DR. J. N. GANNAL, No. 6, 
RUE DE SEINE, PARIS, BY PEYRUSSET, MOLLER & Co., 
THE CONSERVE OF MILK, PREPARED BY M. DE 
LIGNAC, CHATEAU DE MOULEVEDE, PRES 
GUERET, (CREUSE,) AND ALSO THE PRE- 
SERVED POTATO OF D. AND H. 
EDWARDS AND CO., No. 1, 
BISHOPS-GATE STREET, 
LONDON. 



Published by authority of the Navy Department. 



WASHINGTON: 

C. ALEXANDER, PRINTER, 
,18 5 2. 



; 






/^ifff 






Navy Department, 

Bureau of Provisions §' ClotJmig, July, 1852. 

The attention of the Bureau was drawn to the subject of the " desic- 
cated vegetables" by the following notice in a newspaper in May, 

" Important Discovery. — At the last meeting of the Horticultural 
Society, London, various dried vegetables, such as peas, haricot beans, 
Brussels sprouts, carrots, turnips, &c., were exhibited from Peyrusset, 
Moller & Co=, of Paris. These were stated to have been dried by a 
process peculiar to Dr, Gannal, the celebrated chemist and embalmer 
of animal substances. This process is understood briefly to consist 
in dividing the larger vegetables into pieces, and placing them in an 
apparatus into which dried air is driven, until they have parted with all 
the water, and have become perfectly dry. In this condition they 
maybe preserved for any length of time, and it is said that their flavor 
is not at all interfered with, inasmuch as nothing is taken from thern 
€xcept the water they contained, and that, after they are cooked, they 
are just as good as when fresh gathered. If these facts, therefore, are 
borne out by experience, the discovery is a very important one, even 
as regards vegetables, more especially to ship owners, for they can be 
furnished in this state in quantity, and at a very cheap rate ; but in 
addition to vegetables, fruits, as apples, pears, apricots, &c,, and even 
flowers, may be dried and preserved by the same process, and owing 
to the rapidity with which the drying is conducted, the latter retain 
their natural colors almost as brightly as when first obtained from the 
garden." 

Desirous of availing itself of every discovery which might be the 
means of introducing new elements of comfort and health for the bene- 
fit of our seamen, it was the intention of the Bureau to request a friend 
to make inquiries on the subject, and to procure some of the articles ; 
but unexpected circumstances, of a private nature, having made it, 
necessary for its Chief to visit France in July last, the Secretary of the 
Navy, in the kindest manner, granted him leave of absence for a few 
weeks. On arriving in Paris he sought out Dr. Gannal, had frequent 
interviews with him, found him intelligent, frank and communicative, 
and received from him much valuable and interesting infor- 



IV 



mation. In looking over a report of a commission of the Academy of 
Sciences of the Institute of France, on a communication of the Doctor 
in relation to his process of drying and preserving plants for an herbal, 
an allusion was found to a process on a different principle, discovered 
by M. Masson, for the preservation of vegetables. Wishing to obtain 
all the information possible on this interesting subject, it was intended 
to see M, Masson, but that was rendered unnecessary by an introduc- 
tion with which he was favored by H. S. Sanford, Esq., Secretary of 
Legation, (our Minister, Mr. Rives, being absent from the City,) to 
M. Jurien, Director of the administrative services of the French Marine, 
with whom he had several interviews, and by whom he was furnished 
with samples of the vegetables prepared by Chollet & Co., after Mas- 
son's process, which are used in the French Navy. M. Jurien in 
the most courteous manner, sent him copies of several reports which 
had been made on the subject by various naval boards to the Minis- 
ter of Marine, and other documents. 

Advantage was taken on several occasions to make personal ex- 
amination of the very simple process of preparing the vegetables at the 
establishment of Chollet & Co. 

The connection of Dr. Gannal with Peyrusset, Moller & Co., who 
had prepared the vegetables after his process, having been discontinued, 
and his own establishment not having been completed, no opportunity 
offered for its examination. The Bureau has lately observed with re- 
gret, in the papers, a notice of the death of Doctor Gannal, but has 
been informed that his establishment had been completed, and will 
probably be continued by his sons. The Doctor had also been en- 
gaged for sometime in making experiments in relation to the preser- 
vation of fresh meats, and with decided success. On returning to the 
United States, via London, the occasion was embraced to see the 
Messrs. Edwards, the patentees of the " preserved potato," which 
has been so favorably recommended by many eminent scientific men, 
and by officers of the British Navy, in which service it constitutes a 
part of the ration. 

Although the four cases examined by the Boards have not proved 
satisfactory, this is probably owing to the patentees having been de- 
ceived by the persons in their employ in the quality of the potato in 
the specimens furnished. A most favorable report has however been 
received from the U. S. Ship Relief (just returned from the coast of 



Brazil) on board of which four cases, of 28 lbs. each, had been placed 
in December last. — See page 73.* 

An assortment of the articles was brought to the United States, and 
the result of their examination will be found in the following reports. 

In view of the fact that vegetables, thus prepared, may be taken in 
Jarge quantities, on account of the little space which they require, 
and in view also of the beneficial results that would be produced in 
the preservation of the health of both the officers and the crews of our 
vessels, together with their comparative cheapness, (the cost being 
little more than that of fresh vegetables,) it is confidently believed that 
eventually they will be generally used on board of our naval and mer- 
chant vessels. 

Jt table of the quantity of different dried vegetable sub- 
stances produced from 100 kilogrammes of the fresh, 
accordins to Dr. Gannal. 



Name. 


"Weight of Vegetable. 


Weight when 'dried. 


Potato 


100 Kilogrammes. 


25 Kilogrammes. 


Cabbage . . . 






100 " 


71 u 
'y 


Carrots . . . 






100 " 


10 " 


Turnips . . . 






100 " 


8 


Succory . . . 






100 " 


8 " 


Sorrel .... 






100 " 


8 


Cauliflowers . . 






100 " 


10 


Brussels cabbage 






100 " 


6 " 


Spinage .... 






100 " 


8 


Green peas . . . 






100 " 


10 « 


String beans . . . 






100 " 


10 " 


Truffles .... 






100 " 


22 " 


Beans, flageolets 






100 Litres. 


50 Litres. 



* Officers recently returned from the East Indies and the Coast of Africa, speak in 
like favorable terms of " Edwards' potato," which they had obtained on those stations, 
and used in their messes. 



VI 



Comparison of some French imights and measures with the 
Standards of the United States, expressed to the nearest 
fraction of the lowest denominations of the latter. 



U. S. standard, 1 Yard = 


3 Feet: : 


FRENCH. 




Metre. Decimetre. Cendmetre. 


Millimetre, 


1 10 100 


1000 


1 10 


100 


1 


10 




1 



Linear Measures. 

1 Foot = 12 Inches: 1 Inch = 12 Lines. 
UNITED STATES. 



Yard. 


Foot. 


Inch. 


Line. 


1 





3 


4|-f- nearly. 








3 


Hi— " 











4f— « 











1 u 

•J — 



Weights. 

U. S. standard, 1 Lb. = 16 Ounces: 1 Ounce= 16 Drams: 1 Dram=: 27^ Grains nearly. 

FRENCH. UNITED STATES. 

Kilogramme. Hectogramme. Decagramme. Gramme. Decigramme. Lb. Oz. Dr. Gr. 

1 10 100 1000 10000 =r 2 3 4f + nearly. 

1 10 100 1000=0 3 8-r\+ " 

1 10 100 = 5f + " 

1 10 = T«^ — " 

1 =r 1^+" 

Liquid — Capacity Measures. 

U. S. standard, 1 Gallon = 4 auarts: 1 auart = 2 Pints: 1 Pint == 4 Gills. 
FRENCH. UNITED STATES. 

Hectolitre. Decalitre. Litre. Decilitre. Centilitre. Gallon. Quart. Pint. Gill. 



10 


100 


1000 


10000 


^ 


26 


1 


1 


OA- 


1 


10 


100 


1000 


iz: 


2 


2 


1 


Oi + 




1 


10 


100 


HZ 





1 





Oi - 






1 


10 


zzz. 











Oi — 








1 


=z 











OA— 



Note. — The sign + following certain of the U. S. equivalents, means that they are 
inexact in the sense of being too small; while the sign — signifies their being too large. 



vn 



The English equivalents in the following table are those ob- 
tained by Mr. Hassler, late Superintendent of weights and 
measures. 



Inches. 

0.39381 



Length. 

10 Millimetres ■=. 1 Centimetre z=: 

10 Centimetres =r 1 Decimetre = 3.93809 

10 Decimetres = 1 Metre = 39.38092 



10 Centigrammes =z 


Weights. 
1 Decigramme = 


Lbs. Avr. 

.0002 




Troy. 
Grains. 

1,543 


10 Decigrammes =: 


1 Gramme = 


.0022 


s:: 


15,433 


10 Grammes = 


1 Decagramme =i 


.0221 


=1 


154,332 


10 Decagrammes = 


1 Hectogrammes: 


: .2205 


= 


1543,316 


10 Hectogrammes = 


1 Kilogramme zz 


: 2.2047 


= 


15433,159 


10 Centilitres =: 


Liquid Measures. 

Wine. 
Galls. 

1 Decilitre = 0.026 


Wine. 
Quarts. 

= 0.106 


10 Decilitres = 


1 Litre 


=: 0.264 


= 1.057 


10 Litres =: 


1 Decalitre 


= 2.642 


= 10.567 


10 Decalitres = 


1 Hectolitre 


= 26.^ 


tl8 


= 105.673 



VIU 

Navy Department, 

October 30th, 1851. 
Sir: 

The Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing having re- 
ported to the Department that certain alimentary vegetable substances 
adopted in the French Navy ; also a preparation of milk, used in the 
Navies and Hospitals of that country and England, and a prepar- 
ation of potatoes used in that of the latter, have been procured with 
a view to their introduction into the American Navy, if they shall be 
found to be adapted thereto, I have deemed it proper to constitute a 
Board of Officers for the purpose of testing the qualities of the articles 
referred to, and their adaptation as a part of the Navy Rations. 

The samples to be tested and examined, with certain observations 
in relation to experiments to be made, will be sent to you by the Chief 
of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, all of which you will be 
pleased to have placed in the possession of the Board of Officers, to 
consist of 

Captain Breese, 
Commander Carpender, 
Commander Wilson, 
Surgeon Bache, and Purser Dunn. 
The Report of the Board will be forwarded direct to the Depart- 
ment. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

C. M. CONRAD, 
Acting Secretary of the JVavy. 
Captain Wm. D. Salter, 

Commandant JVavy Yard, JVew York. 

Navy Department, 

October 30, 1851. 

Gentlemen : 

You will be pleased to convene at the Navy Yard, New York, on 
the 10th of November next, or as soon thereafter as practicable, as a 
Board of officers of the Navy, for the purpose of examining and test- 
ing certain alimentary vegetables, and prepared milk, with a view to 
their adoption as a part of the navy ration. 



IX 

The Board will examine and test, with the greatest care, each of 
the articles procured, as to its quality, state of preservation, retention 
of properties, and its adaptation as a means of improving the diet of 
seamen. The Department desires that the Board will make accurate 
and minute experiments on such articles as may be presented by the 
Commandant of the New York Navy Yard, who will furnish also cer- 
tain observations in relation to the experiments to be made. 

The result of the experiments and the opinion of the Board will be 
transmitted direct to the Department. 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

C. M. CONRAD, 

Acting Sec. JYavy, 
Captain S. L. Breese, 

Commander E. W. Carpender, 
Commander S. B. Wilson, 
Surgeon B. F. Bache, 
Purser E. T. Dunn, 

U. S. JYavy, JVew York. 



REPORT OF A BOARD 



COMPOSED OF 

CAPTAIN S. L. BREESE, COMMANDERS E. W. CAR- 

PENDER AND S. B. WILSON, SURGEON 

B F. BACHE, AND PURSER 

E, T. DUNN, 

CONVENED, BY ORDER OF 

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, 

AT THE U. S. NAVV YARD, NEW YORK, IN NOV. 18ul. 

FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXAMINING AND TESTING CERTAIN ALIMEN- 
TARY VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, AND PREPARED MILK. 



U. S. Navy Yard, N. York, 

Monday, JYov. lOth, 1851. 

Minutes of the proceedings of a board convened by order 
of the Hon. Secretary of the Navy, dated October 30, 1851, 
for the purpose of examining and testing certain alimentary 
vegetables, and prepared milk, with a view to their adoption 
as part of the navy ration. 

All the members being present, and the Board organized, 
the order of the Secretary of the Navy was read, together 
with the various reports and papers which had been commu- 
nicated by the Commandant of the New York Naval Station, 
for the information and guidance of the Board, after which 
it was determined to remove the articles to be reported upon, ' 
to the Naval Hospital for experiment; that place furnishing 
greater facilities for the purpose ihan the Navy Yard. 
Board adjourned to meet to-morrow at 10 A. M. 

Tuesday, jYov. Wth, 1851, 
Board met pursuant to adjournment, all present. It pro- 
ceeded to inspect the contents of the boxes submitted, which 
were found to agree with the list supplied by the Bureau of 
Provisions and Clothing, with the exception, that a paper of 
potatoes prepared by Masson's process, was not found. The 
several packages were in good order, except that two 
bottles were found broken, viz : one of Carrots^ and one of 



Mushrooms. Their contentSj however, appeared to have 
sustained no loss as to quantity, nor deterioration as to quality, 
from this cause. The Board then proceeded to examine 
and to experiment upon the articles submitted to it, com- 
mencing with those prepared by Masson's process. 

Experiment 1. A tablet of Choux — cabbages — of five 
rations, put up in tin foil, presented the appearance of a 
consolidated mass of leaves of a pale straw color, variegated 
with green, having a pungent, peculiar, and unpleasant odor, 
not resembling that of the fresh plant; it weighed 4 oz. 12 dr. 
avoirdupois — aftersoakingin 2 pints of water at 92° of Fahren- 
heit, for 70 minutes in a covered vessel, it weighed 22 oz. 8 dr., 
having gained by the process 1 lb. 1 oz. 12 dr.; the quantity of 
water remaining not absorbed was seven-eighths of a pint. 
This water was yellowish, and had the taste and odor of 
boiled cabbage. The time of soaking in this instance was 
more protracted, because after it had been carried on for a 
considerable time it was found that in consequence of the 
density of the tablet, the water had not penetrated into the 
interior. The tablet was then broken up, by removing suc- 
cessively the layers of leaves, and the soaking was then con- 
tinued, until the purpose to be attained was supposed to be 
effected. The cabbage was placed then in a covered sauce- 
pan, the water drained from it returned, together with an 
additional quantity amounting in all to eight and a half pints. 
The vessel was placed on a cooking range, over a good 
anthracite fire, when it was speedily brought to the boiling 
point, at which it was maintained until it was considered to 
be prepared for eating. The time employed in cooking was 
two hours and fifty-one minutes; it was then removed and 
carefully drained, after which its weight was found to be 2 
lbs. 5^ oz. 

The article had now assumed very nearly the appearance 
of boiled fresh cabbage, with which it was compared. The 
odor and taste were similar ; it differed from it only in being 
yt;llower, tougher and more saccharine. After having been 
seasoned with butter, pepper and salt, it was found to be an 
agreeable article of food. 

Experiment 2. A tablet of Carrots — carottes — of five 
rations, enclosed in tin foil, on being uncovered, presented 
ri^jther the color nor odor of the repent root, The color 



was too pale — The odor differing but slightly from that of 
the cabbage (Ex. 1.) The m;inagement with this article 
was similar to the preceding, and the various facts connected 
with itj will be found noted in the annexed table, Form A. 
After cooking, this vegetable was found to have resumed its 
color, odor, and taste nearly, the color not so bright as 
in the fresh root — the taste more saccharine. Having been 
seasoned, the article was agreeable to the taste. 

Experiment 3. A tablet of Turnips — navets — (Masson) 
of five rations, the foil, being removed, shewed a dense 
mass of transverse slices of the root, pressed together — ■ 
whitish, with an odor much resembling the preceding ar- 
ticles. The experiments with it were conducted on the 
same plan, [see Table A.] After soaking, the water remain- 
ing was colored yellow — after cooking, the slices had a faint 
taste of the turnip, and were tough and leathery. From their 
appearance when filled out by absorbed water, they were 
supposed to be taken from a small and inferior species.of the 
root. When seasoned^ they were not as palatable as the 
preceding vegetables. 

Experiment 4. A tablet of Julienne, (Masson,) of five 
rations, cased in foil, when uncovered, presented nothing 
worthy of note — it was treated as the preceding, [see Ta- 
ble A.] The water remaining after soaking had the color, 
flavor and odor of the Julienne prepared from fresh roots. 
The mass appeared to consist of carrots, cabbage, and tur- 
nips only. After the soup was cooked, it differed from the 
Julienne with which the Board was familiar;, in the absence 
of meat only. 

Board adjourned to meet to-morrow at 10 A. M. 

U. S. Naval Hospital, 

Wednesday, JVov. \2th, 185L 
Board met pursuant to adjournment. All present. 
Experiment 5. A tablet of Chicoree — succory — (Mas- 
son) of five rations, cased in foil, was uncovered. It was 
of the color of straw-paper, variegated with green. It was 
treated similarly to the preceding vegetables. [Table A,] 
After soaking it did not recover its fresh appearance, the wa- 
ter remaining was brown and imbued with the bitter flavor 



6 

of the plant. After protracted boiling, it remained tough^ 
yellowish, unpalatable, and unfit for food. 

ExPERiBiENT 6. A tablet of Persil — parsley — (Masson,) 
put up in foil, when uncovered, resembled a mass of dead 
leaves of the plant. The odor, although resembling that of 
the preceding preparations, retained the character of the 
fresh plant sufficiently to distinguish it. The tablet was of 
a uniform dark green. After soaking, it regained the ap- 
pearance of the recent leaf, with but little of its flavor. The 
water remaining was strongly imbued with the taste and odor 
of ordinary parsley — the leaves when filled out by absorbed 
water were found to be of an inferior variety of the plant. 
[Table A.} 

Experiment 7. A tablet of Haricots verts — string beans- — 
(Masson) put up in foil, when opened was of a dark green 
color, with a peculiar but not unpleasant smell. After long 
soaking, they had not resumed the appearance of the fresh 
bean, and it was only after protracted boiling that they be- 
came tender. They were then seasoned, and were found 
palatable, and well tasted, although inferior in flavor and 
tenderness to the recent bean. [Table A.] 

Experiment 8. A botde of Petit pois — green peas — 
(Masson) of five rations. The contents had an obscure 
dark green color, and were contracted — not so much so how- 
ever, as to pron;iise a very great increase from the absorption 
of water. After long soaking and cooking, they were filled 
out, and were found to be agreeable and palatable, but less 
highly flavored, and somewhat tougher than the fresh pea. 

Board adjourned to meet to-morrow at 10 A. M. 

U. S. Naval Hospital, 

Thursday, J\'ov. I3th, 1851. 

Board met pursuant to adjournment. All present. 

All the preparations by Masson's process having been sub- 
mitted to experiment — soakmg them in water as a prepara- 
tory step to cooking, with a view to test the practical value 
of this preliminary maceration, it was determined to proceed 
with pordons of some of the articles prepared by this pro- 
cess, by simply placing them in cold water, and exposing 
them to heat over the cooking range — placing them for the 
first half hour, over the end of the range, when the tem- 



perature would not reach quite as high as the boihng 
point, and removino- them afterwards to the middle of the 
range, until the vegetable should be perfectly cooked. 

Experiment 9. A tablet of Choux — cabbages — (Masson) 
of five rations, in all respects similar to that used in the first 
experiment— was treated in the manner described above. 
It weighed, on being uncovered, 5 oz., and was placed in a 
saucepan with six pints of water at the temperature of the 
air — about 58° — In two hours and thirty minutes from the 
time of immersion, it was considered to be sufficiently cooked. 
In color, taste, and tenderness, it was much superior to that 
in which the preliminary soaking had been used. [Table A.] 

Experiment 10. A tablet of Garottes — carrots — (Mas- 
son) of five rations, similar to that used in the experiment 
No. 2, was treated as in the preceding experiment. The 
contrast between the result obtained from this method and 
those of Experiment 2 was very striking — so much so in- 
deed, as to give the impression to the Board, that the'quality 
of the tablets must be different. The cooked carrot, fur- 
nished by this experiment^ could inno respect be distinguished 
from the well prepared recent root. [See Table A.] 

The Board proceeded to examine the Gannal preparations. 

Experiment 11. The contents of a bottle of Champig- 
nons — mushrooms — (Gannal) which had been found broken 
in the box, but to all appearance unchanged, was put into 
boiling water, and soaked for ten minutes — care being taken 
to preserve the temperature from much depression. At the 
€nd of this time the remaining water was of a dark brown 
color — with the taste and odor of the mushroom — which also 
had their natural taste in some degree, but were quite tough. 
They were then cooked for an hour and a half, vi^hen they 
were found to be still tough — -flavor natural but faint™ color 
good. [Table A.] 

Experiment 12. Tapioca Franpais — pure potato — (Gan- 
nal) had a whitish yellow appearance, with short cylindrical 
portions, as if the mass from which it was prepared had, 
before drying, been forced through circular orifices. Seven 
ounces of the tapioca were put into two and one-fifth 
pints of boiling water, well stirred, and then boiled for 
ten minutes. There resulted a semi-fluid, resembling in color 



and consistence thin mush, made from yellow corn meaL 
The taste resembled that of the fresh root, but could be dis- 
tinguished from it. [Table A.] 

Experiment 13. This article was then treated in the 
same quantity, seven ounces, with one pint of water, with 
the view of obtaining it, when cooked, of the consistency of 
ordinary mashed potato. The process was conducted in 
the same manner. The result was better, and more nearly 
resembled mashed potato — a portion of the mass, which 
was in contact with the bottom of the vessel, was shghtly 
burned. [Table A.] 

Experiment 14. For the purpose of comparing the two 
preparations, Edwards' Preserved Potato was next experi- 
mented upon. It presented the appearance of a coarse white 
powder, with a darkish green tinge, with some black specks 
in it. Twelve ounces of it were added to a quart of boiling 
water, and well stirred, and the vessel was kept warm for ten 
minutes. The result was a semi-fluid of the consistence of 
thin mush, made of white corn meal, interspersed with dark 
specks and spots. It had an uncooked and unpleasant taste, 
Hke that of decayed potato. [Table A.] 

Experiment 15. Twelve ounces of the same prepara- 
tion v*^ere added to a pint of boiling water, to obtain a thicker 
product. The resulting mass was too thick and tenacious, 
and had the same unpleasant taste and bad color. The im- 
pression of the Board from these two experiments was that 
the sample of Edwards' Preserved Potato, submitted to 
them, had been prepared from diseased or decayed material. 

Experi3ient 16. A tin case of conserve of milk — (de 
Lignac) was opened, and found to contain a white, soft, solid 
mass. A portion was diluted with five times its bulk of 
warm water. It formed a milk-like fluid, with the flavor of 
rich boiled milk, much sweetened. A portion of the con- 
serve, sufficient to make half a pint of milk, was set apart 
to be analysed, in order to compare the result with that ob- 
tained from an equal quantity of cows' milk. [See paper B.J 
A portion was set aside, to observe the eflJiect of being kept 
exposed to the air. 

Experiment 17. A portion of a tablet of consohdated 
milk, which was received from the Navy Yard, two months 
ago, for trial, was examined. It had been expose^! to the at- 



mosphere ever since it had been at the Hospital, and ap- 
paarel to be in no degree rancid, or impaired from that 
cause. A quantity of it was grated, and the powder dissol- 
ved in warm water. The resulting liquid was thought more 
closely to resemble unboiled milk than the preceding — ■ 
and to have less artificial sweetening. The analysis of 100 
grs. troy, of this article, will be found in paper marked B. 
Board adjourned, to meet to-morrow at 10 A. M. 

U. S, Naval Hospital, 
Jfovember I4th, 1851. 

Board met pursuant to adjournment^ all present. 

ExPERiMEi>fT 18. A tablet of Garottes — carrots — (Mas- 
son) of five rations, in all respects like those used in exper- 
iments 2 and 10, was treated by the mode laid down by Gan- 
nai; it was soaked in salted water of the temperature of the 
air for seven hours, and then boiled for an hour. The result 
could in no respect be distinguished from the properly cooked 
recent root. [Table A.] 

Experiment. 19. A tablet of Navets — turnips — (Mas- 
son) of five rations, was treated in the same manner; the result 
was watery, tasteless, and without odor. The root from 
which the preparation had been made, seemed as in the other 
experiments, to be of an inferior kind. [Table A.] 

Experiment 20. A tabletof Choux — cabbages — (Gannal) 
covered with paper, was opened; it was a mass of large, 
dull, yellow colored leaves, not so tightly pressed as those 
of Masson — the odor was very unpleasant. On separating 
the leaves, it appeared to be carelessly prepared. An entire 
carrot and a large piece of cotton string were found in the in- 
interior of the package. The inner part was moist, and 
thought to be slightly mildewed. One hundred grains of 
the leaves, taken from the interior of the package, after hav- 
ing been exposed to a temperature of 88° for twenty-four 
hours, was found to have lost six and ahalf grains in weight« 
The package weighed one pound ten ounces ; it was soaked 
for two hours in six pints of water at 96°, and afterwards 
boiled in twenty-eight and two-sixteenths pints, for an hour 
and fifty-five minutes, when it appeared to be well cooked. 
It was found to be tender, but with little taste. Its color was 
yellowish white. [Table A.] 
2 



10 

Experiment 21. The contents of a bottle marked Ju- 
lienne, composed of ten varieties of vegetables — (Gannal) — 
for twenty-four persons, weighed one pound two ounces; it 
was boiled for two hours and three-quarters in a mixture of 
twelve pints of stock soup, with thirteen pints nine and a 
half ounces of water. The soup had the flavor, in a high 
degree, of the vegetables of which it was composed, and 
was agreeable. The vegetables, except the cauliflower, 
were tough, and did not improve in this respect from pro- 
tractetl boiling. [Table A.] 

Experiment 22. A package of Oseille — sorrel — (Gan- 
nal,) put up in paper, was of a yellowish green color. The 
leaves were packed in layers, with slips of paper interven- 
ing ; it had a peculiar unpleasant odor. Three ounces and 
two drachms were put into cold salted water and boiled for 
fifty-two minutes, when it was found to be perfectly cooked ; 
the dark green color of the leaf was restored ; it was tender, 
and had the taste of the vegetable, but not in a high degree. 
[Table A.] 

Experiment 23. The contents of a bottle of Chou 
fleur — cauliflower — (Gannal,) was of a yellowish-white ap- 
pearance. Two ounces and two drachms were put into four 
and an eighth pints of water, at the temperature of the air, 
and boiled for fifty minutes, when it was found to be well 
cooked; it was tender and palatable, much resembling the 
recent vegetable in these respects. The color was unchanged. 
[Table A ] 

Experiment 24. The contents of a bottle of Haricots verts 
flageolets — bunch beans — (Gannal,) had very much the ap- 
pearance of the ordinary bunch bean when matured, but 
was lighter ; ten and a quarter ounces were put into five pints 
of cold water and boiled for two hours and forty minutes, 
when they were found to be tender and palatable, nearly as 
much so as the fresh bean. [Table A.] 

Experiment 25. The Betteraves — beets — (Gannal) con- 
sisted of several transverse sections of the root, of a deep 
red color, very light from exsiccation. They were loosely 
wrapped in paper, and had some minute fragments of glass 
adhering to them, from which it was inferred they had orig- 
inally been packed in a bottle, which had been broken. Two 
ounces and nine drachms were put into a mixture of cider 



11 

vinegar and water, a pint of each, at the temperature of the 
air. It was soaked for thirteen and a half hours; the color 
of the root was freel}^ imparted to the acidulated water ; the 
root was tender and pleasant to the taste, hut resembling in 
appearance and flavor, beets that had been kept out of the 
ground for a length of time. [Table A.] 

Board adjourned, to meet on Monday, the 17th instant, at 
10 A. M. 

U. S. Naval Hospital, 
Monday, JYov. \7th, 1831. 

Board met pursuant to adjournment. All present. 

Experiment 26. The contents of a bottle of Carottes — 
carrots — (Gannal) which was found broken in the box, con- 
sisted of longitudinal split portions of the dried root, retain- 
ing its natural color and taste. Five ounces of it were soaked 
in two and a half pints of salted water, at 58°, for fourteen 
hours and fifty minutes; the weight after maceration was 
one pound five ounces and four drachms, the water remain- 
ing measured one pint and seven-sixteenths ; they were 
then cooked for an hour and ten minutes in four j)ints and 
seven-sixteenths of water, when they were found to weigh 
one pound nine and a half ounces. They had recovered 
very nearly the natural appearance and flavor of the cooked 
recent root. [Table A.] 

Experiment 27. The contents of a bottle of Navets— 
turnips — (Gannal) consisted of longitudinal portions of the 
root dried and contracted. Six ounces was soaked in two 
and a half pints of salted water at 58° for eight hours ; they 
imparted a dull orange color with the odor of the root to the 
water remaining, which amounted to one pint and seven- 
sixteenths. The weight of the root when soaked was 
one pound five ounces and a half ; it was then cooked in 
two pints and seven-sixteenths of water for thirty-five min- 
utes, when being sufficiently done, its weight was found to 
be one pound eight ounces and a quarter. The flavor was 
good and they were tender. [Table A.] 

Experiment 28. The contents of a bottle of Chicoree — 
succory — (Gannal) consisted of small fragments of leaves of 
a pale greenish-yellow appearance ; it was boiled in cold 
water until cooked ; it was tender ; color unchanged ; taste 
unpleasant. [Table A,] 



12 

Experiment 29. A package of Persil — parsley — (Gan- 
iial,) consisted of thin layers of pressed bunches of sprigs 
of the plantj separated by slips of paper ; color dull yel- 
lowish-green ; a portion was soaked in cold water for three 
hours; the water restored the size of the leaves, but they 
did not recoveu their odor, taste, nor color. [Table A.] 

Experiment 'SO. The contents of a bottle of Choux de 
broxelles — hrussels cabbages — (Gannal,) consisted of a num- 
ber of small heads of the vegetable of their natural form. A 
portion was cooked in cold salted water; it recovered its 
color ; was tender, except the cut part of the stem, and was 
very palatable and pleasant. [Table A.] 

Experiment 31. The conients of a botde of Epinards — 
spinage — (Gannal,) consisted of a coarse powder of the leaf, 
of a green color ; a portion was boiled in salted water till it 
was well cooked ; it had the color and taste of the cooked 
recent plant. [Table A.] 

Experiment 32. A quantity of Ognon — onion — (Gannalj 
was loosely enveloped in paper, retaining its natural appear- 
ance, wiih some of the odor. After soaking, the odor was 
much stronger ; when cooked, the odor and taste were strong ; 
but they were stringy and tough. [Table A.] 

* Experiment 33. To ascertain whether these desiccated 
vegetables could not be supplied with water and cooked by 
the vapor arising from sea water, in the process of cooking 
salted meats, thereby saving fresh water and fuel, and pre- 
serving the sapid and soluble matters, which were found to 
be in some degree lost by maceration and coction — a por- 
tion of choux — cabbages — ( Masson, ) was exposed to a current 
of steam in the dry state, upon a perforated metallic plate, 
in a large vessel connected with a still ; at the end of an hour 
some of the leaves were found to be cooked, while the re- 
mainder w^ere softened and turned brown, but had absorbed 
but little water. At the end of five hours and thirty-five 
minutes they were all thoroughly cooked. They had a sweet- 
ish taste and a brown color. It is to be observed that the 
apparatus used in this experiment was not well calculated 
for the purpose. The perforated shelf was so large that but 
a small portion of it was covered by the leaves, so that the 
steam had a free escape without coming in contact with them. 
[Table A.] 

* See note at page 16. 



13 

U. S. Naval Hospital^ 

Tuesday, JYov ember I8th, 1851. 

Board met pursuant to adjournment. All present. 

Experiment 34. A paper ot Pomme de terre — potato — 
(Masson) received from the Bureau of Provisions and Cloth- 
ing, consisted of hard, dried, transverse slices. After being 
soaked in warm water they were cooked and found to have 
the flavor of the potato in a high degree^ and to be a very 
pleasant article of food. [Table A.] 

The specimens from the can of Edwards' Preserved Po- 
tato, furnished for experiment, having produced such unsat- 
isfactory results as to color, odor and taste, the Board was 
disposed to believe that this article had been prepared from 
diseased or defective roots, and that it did not fairly repre- 
sent the article ; a portion of the same preparation was 
therefore ob'ained from another can. 

Experiment 35. Fifteen ounces of it were thrown into 
three pints of water at 138° and soaked for forty mhiutes. 
The resulting mass had a good color and consistence, but a 
crude, unpleasant taste, and a bad odor. To endeavor to re- 
move these, the mass was exposed to the boiling temperature 
for ten minutes over a water-bath, but with no advantage as 
to the result. The specimen from this second can was of a 
pale yellowish color, with less of the greenish tinge than was 
observed in the article used in experiments 14 and 15. The 
Board is of opinion that the contents of both the cans ex- 
amined were prepared from defective potatoes. [Table A.] 

The Board then proceeded to the examination of several 
tin cases, containing respectively flour, rice, beans and raisins. 

Experiment 36. Two cubical* tin boxes, measuring 
within a very small fraction of twelve inches each side, and 
marked ^^Experimental Flour, Stafford's Process, April 30, 
1850. To go out in the Relief and be returned to the Navy 
Yard, Nev/ York," were examined. The cans were found 
in perfect order and a\ ell soldered — so that their contents 
were preserved fi^om exposure to the air. Upon opening 
them the flour looked well, but in both it was sour. An at- 
tempt to prepare bread from a portion of it was made. The 
result was heavy and sour, and dark. 

*The cubic tin cans cost, each forty-five cents ; the cylinders, thirty-eight cents, 



M 

■ Experiment 37. A cylindrical* tin can^ seven and a quar- 
ter inches in length, and seven and an eighth inches in diame- 
ter, and marked, '* Raisins put up in tin on trial, not to be 
opened until fifteen months from this date, October 30, 1850. 
The condition of the raisins is then to be reported to the 
Chief of the Bureau of I'rovisions and Clothing. E. W. 
Carpender," — was examined. The box was in good order and 
w^ell soldered. The raisins^ weighing four and a half pounds, 
were found of good quahty and in excellent preservation in 
all respects, except that a few of them were slightly candied. 

Experiment 38. A similar tin can to the preceding, 
marked '^ Rice," with the same directions as were found 
upon the can of raisins, was found to be in good order. 
The rice contained in it weighed nine and a half pounds, 
and looked well ; it was quite free from insects, but had a 
slight musty smell. On being cooked, it proved to be per- 
fectly sound and good. 

Experiment 39. A can similar to the preceding, 
marked " Beans," with the same directions, was found to 
be in good order. On opening it was found to contain seven 
pounds nine ounces of white beans, and a small tin box 
not soldered, with thirteen and a half ounces of a dif- 
ferent and larger variety of white bean. Those in the outer 
box did not look bright, and had an unpleasant odor as if 
they were beginning to decay ; on being cooked they did 
not prove good. Those in "the inner can appeared to be in 
perfect condition in every respect. On being cooked they 
were found to be sound and good, but they required long 
boiling. 

Board adjourned, to meet on Monday, the 24th Novem- 
ber, at 10 A. M. 

U. S. Naval Hospital, 
Monday, JYov. 24th, 1851. 
Board met pursuant to adjournment. All present. 
The Board proceeded to inspect the can of Conserve of 
Milk, opened on the 13th instant, and set aside to be ex- 
posed to the action of the air. It was found to be highly 
rancid, having very much the appearance and odor of rancid 
tallow. 

*The cubic tin cans cost each forty-five cents ; the cylinders thirty-eight cents. 



15! 

The Board having completed the examination of the set- 
era! articles submitted to it, and having recorded the exper- 
iments made, and their results in the minutes of its proceed- 
ings, and tables A and B, respectfully report : 

1. That of the articles examined, the cabbage, carrots, 
and potatoes of Masson appear to be most suitable for serv- 
ing out in cruising vessels, as a part of the diet. 

2. That these articles, in the opinion of the Board, prom- 
ise to be highly valuable to crews engaged on long voyages, 
or under circumstances when supplies of fresh vegetables 
cannot be obtained. 

3. That the Board cannot recommend the substitution of 
these articles for any of the component parts of the existing 
ration, with the exception, possibly, of cheese. 

4. That in view of the difficulty that may be found in 
cooking these preparations properly, on ship board, and of 
the prejudice against their introduction as food, that may 
arise among the men, the Board would recommend, that 
for the purpose of determining how far these objections 
may be valid, one ration of either of the above-named desic- 
cated vegetables be served w^eekly, in addition to the exist- 
ing ration, for a time sufficient to determine these points. 

5. That many of the other desiccated vegetables would 
form useful and agreeable articles of food, for the officers' 
messes, of cruising vessels. 

6. That the conserve of milk, of de Lignac, although an 
excellent imitation of milk, so far as taste is concerned, ap- 
pears from analysis, to differ from it in important respects, 
and does not promise to be valuable as an article of diet, for 
medical use — and the Board does not recommend its adop- 
tion for this purpose. 



16 

Note. — One of the difficulties in the introduction of desiccated vegetables, as an 
article of diet in the Naval service, is the increased consumption of fresh water and 
fuel requisite for their preparation, <igreeal. ly to the directions of the manufacturers. 

It is believed that the expenditure of both may be dispensed with, and the cooking^ 
thoroughly effected by a modification in the construction of the coppers ordinarily used 
on ship-board. 

Let a shallow vessel with a seive-like or perforated bottom be fitted over the top of 
the copper, so as to be clear of the water which may be required for boiling the salted 
meats. Upon this bottom the desiccated vegetaiile is to be placed in a thin but equable 
layer. The vessel closely covered by its lid is then to be fitted into its place. The 
meats and cold sea water first having been introduced into the copper. The fire is to 
be slowly raised; as soon as the water becomes warm it will throw off vapor, which, 
being condensed by the diaphragm and lid, will be absorbed by the vegetable furin'shing 
it with the requisite amount of fresh water to bring it to the proper condition for cook- 
ing. After the water attains the boiling point, the steam evolved will cook the vegeta- 
ble without soaking out from it the sapid matter, as is the case in a degree wlien boiling 
in water is resorted to. 

Should difficulty be experienced in practice in moistening the dry vegetable suffici- 
ently by vapnr, this part of the process may be performed by immersion in fresh water; 
the moistened vegetable can then readily be cooked by steam in the manner proposed. 



3f 



ARTICLE. 



GLuantity of 
water used 
ill boiling. 


Time of 
cooldng. 


Pints. 


h. 


m. 


8,1 


2 


51 


6 


2 


30 


Steamed. 






2i 


1 


50 


4 


2 


25 


6 


1 




5 


2 




6 


1 


5 


9 


3 


5 


8 


4 




10 


4 


5 


2 


3 


45 
25 


28 1\ 


1 


55 


4A ■ 


1 


10 


2tV 




35 


(gravy 12) 
I wat.13^9^ 5 


2 


45 


4A 




15 


'2i 




10 


1 




10 


salt water 




52 


4e- salt 




50 


5 salt. 




40 






30 


4tV "'^'^ 




45 


3 salt 




30 
20 



Weight when 
cooked. 



Choux- — Cabbages (Masson) - 

do do. 

do. do. 

Carottes — Carrots do. 

do. do. 

do. do. 

Navets — Turnips do. 

do. do. 

Julienne do'. 

Chicoree — Succory do. 
Persil — Parsley do. 

Haricots Verts — String Beans do. • 
Petit Pols — Green Peas do. - 
Pommes de terre — Potato do. - 
Choux — Cabbages — ^^Gannal 
Carottes — Carrots do. 
Navets — Turnips do. 

Julienne do. 

Chicoree — Succory do. 
Persil — Parsley do. 

Tapioca Fran^ais — Pure Potato do 
do do. do 

Oseille — Sorrel (Gannal) 
Chou Fleur — Cauliflower do. 
Haricots Verts Flageolets — Bunch Be 
Champignon — Mushrooms 
Choux de Bruxelles— Brussels Cabba 
Epinards — Spinage (Gannal) - 
Betteraves — Beets do, 
Ognon — Onion do. 



12 



12 

4 

4 

4 
12 



ARTICLE. 



lARKS. 



Edwards' Prepared Potato 
do. do. 

do. do 



mutes. 

o. 

ninutes in water bath. 



NoTE.-=The Litre is equal to about on 



17&18 



= 










TABLE A. 






























=^ 


1 


Weight in the 


■o-o bi 


t*^ 






i'S 'i 








=== 


£ 


ARTICLE. , 


dry St 
Avoirdi 


tte 
pois 

dr. 


if ! 




of the 
soaking. 


Weightafter 
soaking. 




In 


crease of 
weight. 


(Quantity of 
water used 
ill boiling. 


Time of 
cooking. 


Weight when 
cooked. 


^ 


b. oz. 


Pints. 


Fah 


h. 


m. 


lb. 


oz. 


dr. 


Pints. 


lb. 


oz. 


dr. 


Pints. 


h 




lb, 


02 1 ,l/ 


1 

9 


Choux— Cabbages (Masson) - - - - 
do do. - - . . 


4 
. 5 


12 


2 


92C 




10 


1 


6 


8 


-8 




1 


12 


8| 


2 


51 


2 


5 


8 


33 


do. do. - - - . 


4 


8 


























6 


2 


30 








a 


Garottes — Carrots do. - - _ _ 


4 






91 






















Steamed. 














10 


do. do. - - . . 


. 4 


13 












8 




5 




13 


2 


23 




50 




9 




) 


18 


do. do. - - . . 


. 5 




salt water 


58 






1 


6 














4 


2 


25 










3 


Na»ets— Turnips do. - - . . 


4 


14 


2 


92 




35 


1 








1 






2 










12 






19 


do. do. .... 


. 4 


4 


salt water 


58 

















■ 


5 






2 


5 






4 
5 
6 
7 


Julienne do. - . - . 
Chicoree— Succory do. .... 
Persil— Parsley do. - . ' . 
Haricots Verts — String Beans do. - 


4 

4 

2 

. 2 


15 
6 

4 

q 


2 
3 
2 
2 


92 
90 
90 
91 


1 


45 
50 


1 
1 


7 

8 
14 

9 
11 

.5 


8 
8 
12 


if 




2 
4 
12 


9 

8 


9 

8 




3 

5 


2 


3 
3 






8 


Petit Pois— Green Peas do. - ■- - . 


. 5 




2 


89 


1 


9 






ii F 




6 


V 


10 




5 




3 






34 


Pommes de terre — Potato do. - . - _ 


. 10 


R 


3 


1.38 




40 


1 














45 




12 




20 
26 
27 


Choux — Cabbages— .Gannal .... 
Garottes — Carrots do. - - _ . 
Navels— Turnips do. .... 


1 10 

. 5 

b 




6 

2| salted 
2| salted 


96 
58 
58 


2 
14 

8 


50 


5 
1 

1 


11 
5 


4 

8 


2,\ 

iiV 
ItV 




1 
15 


4 
8 


28 ,\ 

Sy'ir 
(gravy 12) 




55 
10 
35 


11 


1 
9 

a 


12 


21 


Julienne do. - - . _ 


I 2 




4 e 
























45 










































j wal.i3.^!>j, J 










28 


Chicoree — Succory do. .... 


. 2 


14 




58 




























15 




9 




29 


Persil — Parsley do. .... 










58 
























"•tV 








12 


Tapioca Fran^ais — Pure Potato do. 


7 
































2a. 




10 








13 


do do. do. 


7 




































10 
.50 








22 


Oseille— Sorrel (Gannal) - - . - 


3 


2 






























salt water 






1 




23 


ChouFleur— Cauliflower do. - - . 


2 


2 






58 
























4; salt 




50 




13 




24 


Haricots Verts Flageolets — Bunch Beans do. 


10 


4 






























5 salt. 




40 




10 




11 


Champignon — Mushrooms do. 














10 
























30 








30 
31 


Ghoux de Bruxelles — Brussels Cabbage do. 
Epinards— Spinage (Gannal) .... 


1 


2 

4 






























3 suit 




45 
30 




6 

8 


4 
12 


25 


Betteraves — Beets do. .... 


2 


9 


) vinegar 1 


58 


13 


30 




10 


8 
























32 


Ognon — Onion do. .... 


2 


12 


) water 1 


58 


J 




8 


12 














20 




13 


4 













TABLE A- 


Continued. 




vi 


ARTICLE. 


duantity ex- 
perimented 
with. 


auantity 

of water 

used. 




REMARKS. 




^ 


lb. 


oz. dr. 


Pints. 


Pah. 




14 
15 
35 


Edwards' Prepared Potato ..... 

do. "^ do. 

do. do 




12 
12 
15 




2 
] 
3 


2120 
312 
13t 


Well stirred and kept warm for ten minutes, 

do. do. do. 
Exposed to temperature 212° for ten minutes in w.i 


tnr bath. 



NoTB.—The Litre is equal to about one pint and three-quarters, imperial measure, and to two pints and a fifth wine measure, 



19 

TABLE B. 

Analysis of fresh Cows' milk, conserve of milk, (de Lignac,) and con- 
solidated milk, made by James Beaison, Jipoihecary to the U. S. J^'aval 
Hospital, Jfew York. 















<*, 










-a 




o 










Q 








TS 






CO 








0) 






„ 




>i 




N 






a-j 




- -^ 




>-. ^ 






O 






ARTICLE. 


15 -s 










5d 




.^^ 


C3 




O! 




o . 






s 


c 


3 


CO 

O 






& 


fa 


o 


«3 


H^ 


zn 


Extract of Cows' milk half 










water. 




a pint, of the consistence 












of the conserve. 


720 gr. 


190 gr. 


106 gr. 


172 gr. 


152 


1,034 


Conserve of milk, de Lig- 








" 


water. 


/ 


nac. 


640 grs. 


32 gr. 


218 gr. 


340 gr. 


50 gr. 


1,040 


Consolidated milk in 














cake. 


100 grs. 


4 


23 


62 


11 





Remarks. — The fatty matter from the cows' milk was evidently butter. 
That from the conserve appeared to be some animal fat, not natural to 
milk, perfectly white in color. 

The sugar from the conserve, was evidently, for the most part, cane 
sugar. 



NAVY DEPARTMENT, 

May 6th, 1851. 

Surgeons Bailey Washington, 
George Clymer, and 
Joseph Beale, 
Gentlemen: — The Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, 
having requested the Department to detail a Board of Medical Offi- 
cers for the purpose of examining various alimentary vegetable sub- 
stances prepared by the process of desiccation in Europe, and used 
in the French and English Navies : — You are hereby constituted a 
Board, to examine such articles as may be submitted to you by the 
Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing. You will assemble 
in Washington on the 12th instant, and make a full report to the De- 
partment on the subject at as early a period as practicable. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILL. A. GRAHAM. 



Note. — Of these vegetables itis only known that the " Preserved potato " of Messrs. 
Edwards is at present used in the English service. 



EEPOET OP A BOARD 

COMPOSED OF 

SURGEONS B. WASHINGTON, GEORGE CLYMER, 
AND JOS. BEALE, 

CONVENED BY ORDER OF THE 

SECRET ART OF THE NAVY, 

AT WASHINGTON GITY, IN MAY, 1852. 

FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXAMINING CERTAIN DESICCATED ALIMENTARY 

VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, &C. 



WashingtoNj Jz/Tie 24th^ 1852. 
Sir. : 

We have the honor to make the following report in confor- 
mity with your order of the 6th uhimo^ directing us to ex- 
amine such dried ahmentary substances as would be submit- 
ted to us by the Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Cloth- 
ing, and to make a full report to the Department on the sub- 
ject. 

We assembled in Washington on the 12th ultimo, and daily 
thereafter until we completed the examination, which was 
made with great care and exactness. 

The following articles were submitted to us by the Chief 
of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing. 

1st. Those prepared by Masson's process were compressed, 
were in the form of tablets of about four inches square by 
one-half inch thick, and covered with tin foil, and were as 
follows, viz : 

4 tablets of Cabbages — Choux — viz : 2 of 5 rations, and 

2 of ten each. 

3 " Carrots — Carottes — of 5 rations each. 
2 '^ Turnips — Navets — of 5 rations each. 

4 ^'^ Julienne — composed of diiferent vegetables for 

Soup — 2 of 10 rations and 2 of 5 rations each. 
1 " Succory — Chicoree — of 5 rations. 

1 ^^ Parsley — Persil. 

4 '^ String beans — Haricots Verts. 

2 botdes of Green Peas — Petits Pois — not compressed, 

of 5 rations each. 
1 paper of Potatoes — Pommes de terre — in separate 
slices not compressed. 



22 

On each of the above tablets was the following in French : 
" Before cooking, soak for a half hour or longer in warm 
water, in a covered vessel." 

2d. Those prepared by Gannal's process were not com- 
pressed, were either in bottles closed with corks and thick 
tin foil, not air tight, or in a covering of white paper, and 
were the following : 

1 bottle of Carrots — Garottes. 

2 " Turnips — Navets. 

1 " Juhenne — consisting of 10 different kinds 

of vegetables. 

1 '^ Succory — Chicoree. 

2 " Potato — Tapioca Francais. 

2 ^^ Bunch Beans — Haricots Verts Flageolets. 

1 " Cauliflowers — Choux Fleurs. 

1 " Mushrooms — Champignons. 

2 " Brussels' Cabbages— Choux de Bruxell'es. 
1 " Spinage — Epinards. 

1 package of Cabbages — Choux. 
1-2 " Parsley — Persij. 

2 " Sorrel — Oseille. 

1 '^ Beets — Betteraves. 

1 " Onions — Ognons. 

3d. " Preserved Milk," (conserve delait,) prepared byM. 
de Lignac, of France, three tin canisters, weighing each, 
in the average, 1 lb. 8 oz. 13 dr. ; avordupois Enghsh, gross. 

The following is the direction (in French) on each can- 
ister: " To obtain milk, it is necessary only to dilute a part 
of the conserve with five times the 'quantity of warm v*^ater, 
and then to boil it." 

4th. ^^ Preserved Potato" of D. & H. Edwards & Co., 
of London, 2 tin cases, containing .56 lbs. and 28 lbs. 

The printed direction for its use is, " to about three-quar- 
ters of a pound of the Patent Preserved Potato, add one 
quart of boihng water, stirring it at the same time ; cover it 
closely, and to prevent chilling, the basin or vessel used should 
be kept hot; let it stand for ten minutes, then well mash, 
adding salt, butter, &c., at pleasure." 

That our report may embrace all the information in our pos- 
session, in relation to these alimentary substances, and present 
the whole subject in the most intelligible form before the De- 



23 

partmentj we deem it proper, before making a statement of 
our examination and experiments, to submit an abstract of 
the valuable information relating to them, contained in cer- 
tain papers that have been placed in our hands by the Chief 
of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing. 

No. 1. The first of these is a report (extracted from the 
annals of the Central Horticultural Society of France, 1851,) 
dated the 5th April, 1851, of a Committee of the Central 
Society of Plorticulture of France, on ihe processes of desicca- 
tion, reduction, and preservation of vegetable alimentary 
substances, by M. E. Masson. 

From this Report it appears that there is established in 
Paris, at No. 5 Rue Marbeuf, under the direction of Messrs. 
Chollet & Co., a manufactory for the preparation, by the pro- 
cesses of M. Masson, of vegetable substances, with vt^hich 
the French Navy and Commercial Marine are furnished. 

The establishment consists of, first, a room for washing and 
picking the vegetables ; 2nd, a large drying room fitted with 
shelves and sieves, for the spreading, shaking and turning of 
the vegetables during the drying, and supphed with dry air 
at a temperature of 35° to 38° centigrade (95° to 100° Fah- 
renheit,) and from which the moist air is discharged through 
chimneys ; and 3d, a storehouse for depositing the dried 
vegetables. After this, they are subjected to pressure, formed 
into tablets of a certain size, wrapped in tin foil, and then 
packed in tin cases for preservation, and for sending away. 

Each tablet weighs 500 grammes, sufficient for twenty ra- 
tions of twenty-five grammes each, which, by cooking, regain 
the weight of 150 to 180 grammes, according to the kind of 
vegetable. Each tin case contains five kilogrammes of dried 
vegetables, sufficient for two hundred rations, and costs tv/en- 
ty-five francs — 25,000 rations can be shipped in the space of 
a cubic metre. 

We would here remark that the French gramme is equal 
to IStWtt grains Troy; that the French kilogramme (or 
1000 grammes) is equal to 21b. 3 oz. 5 dr. avordupois; that 
the French metre is SQAW English inches ; and that the 
French franc is eighteen and three-fourth cents. 

A note by M. Masson, appended to this part of the printed 
report of the Committee, gives the following results of experi- 
ments made at the manufactory, to satisfy the enquiries of 
the committee. 



24 

820 kilogrammes of green spinage were reduced by pick- 
ingj (an operation performed by 30 women in one day^) to 
639 kilogrammes. These 639 kilogrammes^ exposed during 
22 hours, in the drying room of the manufactory, to the heat 
produced by the burning of 250 kilogrammes of charleroy 
coal, were reduced to 71 kilogrammes in the dry state; 568 
kilogrammes of water having consequently been evapora- 
ted. 

920 kilogrammes of curled green cabbage, picked in one 
day by 30 women, gave, after picking, 725 kilogrammes, 
which exposed in the drying room, for 28 hours, to the heat 
produced by the consumption of 300 kilogrammes of coal, 
gave 69 kilogrammes of dry cabbage; 656 kilogrammes of 
water having thus been evaporated. 

500 kilogrammes of carrots, picked, weighed after com- 
plete desiccation in the drying room, 50 kilogrammes ; the 
reduction of weight being, consequntly nine-tenths. 

550 kilogrammes of turnips, picked and sliced, lost, in 25 
hours, 500 kilogrammes of water, leaving 50 kilogrammes 
of dried vegetables. 

All the fleshy roots lose about the same weight. Pears and 
apples lose only six-sevenths of their weight by desiccation. 

7 hectolitres of potatoes, weighing 455 kilogrammes, 
gave, after peeling, 283 kilogrammes of heart of potato, 
which were reduced by drying, to 57 Kilogrammes ; that is 

1 hectolitre of raw potatoes weighed 65 kilogrammes, 
" peeled 40 '' 

'' dried 8 " 

8 kilogrammes of potatoes, unpeeled, gave 2 kilogrammes 
of dry potatoes, having lost by desiccation 75 per cent, of their 
weight. 

The Horticultural Committee pronounce the opinion that 
the desiccating process of M. Masson preserves vegetables, 
particularly legumes, without altering their constitution, and 
reduces them to a very small bulk without impairing their 
flavor, or nutritive properties. Desiccation carries off" the 
water not necessary to their constitutiouj and which in some 
vegetables, such as cabbages and roots, exceeds 80 per cent, 
of their weight when fresh, — compression reduces their vol- 
ume, increases their density to that of deal, and thus facil- 
itates their preservation, stowage, and transportation. 



25 

To use the vegetables^ prepared by the processes of M. 
Masson^ it suffices to steep them 30 or 40 minutes, in tepid 
water in a covered vessel^ or 6 or 8 hours in cold water ; 
when they will have resumed with most of the water they 
had lost, their fresh appearance; particularly cauliflowers, 
which from a yellow tint, return to all their original white- 
ness. They may then be cooked, and seasoned as the same 
vegetables when fresh. 

Numerous experiments made by committees appointed by 
the Minister of Marine to examine the dried vegetables of 
M. Masson, with reference to the question of their introduction 
into the Naval Service, (an abstract of whose reports will be 
presented under No. 5,) attest the good quality and complete 
preservation of these productions after a shipment of 4 years. 
Thus, a chest of cabbages, shipped the 29th of January, 1847, 
on board the Corvette, the Astrolabe, and opened in the early 
part of January, 1851, containing cabbages, merely dried and 
not pressed, being served out, 200 grammes of the. cab- 
bage, "after having soaked during an hour in warm water, 
absorbed at first 850 grammes of water ; then, having been 
cooked for two hours, their weight rose to 1300 grammes ; 
after which, prepared with butter and lard, they made a dish 
of excellent taste." (Report of the Naval Committee, Gth 
March, 1851.) 

According to another Committee, a tablet of cabbage com- 
pressed, and 10 centimetres (StVoW English inches) square 
and two centimetres thick, and wrapped in tin foil, weighed 
in the gross, 145 grammes, and contained 130 grammes of 
dried cabbage in a volume of 200 cubic centimetres, which 
correspond to a density of 650 kilogrammes to the cubic 
metre. This cabbage absorbed six and a half times its weight 
of water by both soaking in warm water and boiling. The 
flavor was thought excellent. 

A third report proves that the julienne, the spinage, &c., 
prepared by the same processes, gave dishes that were pro- 
nounced perfect. The Committee are of opinion, likewise, 
that these cabbages should be substituted in the Navy, not 
only as a relish in place of sauer kraut, but also at regular 
meals instead of the usual allowance of beans and dry vege- 
tables. They add that the expense of desiccation, by the pro- 
cess of M. Masson, ought not to equal that of preparing the 



26 

sauer krautj or the cost of beanSj and that, as to bulk, it would 
be much less, in the case of M. Masson's cabbages, than in 
that of the latter articles. 

M. Masson's processes of preservation are applied, with 
entire success, to most vegetables and to several fruits. Thus, 
all cabbages, spinage, parsley, cress, chervil, succory^ and 
sorrel are dried and pressed to a very small volume. It ^s 
the same with carrots, turnips, parsnips, celery, salsify, and 
viper's grass, which are cut in thin slices, and into small pieces 
to make julienne. Cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, asparagus 
and string beans, in order to resume their natural appearance, 
should not be pressed. Potatoes are perfectly preserved in 
thin slices. Peas and beans in a green state also, are suc- 
ceeded with very well ; as are, hkewise, truffles, mushrooms, 
onions and leeks, which should, however, be cut into small 
pieces. Lastlj^, various fruits also, and especially apples and 
pears in shces, are dried and keep perfectly. 

The Horticultural Committee conclude their Report by 
enumerating the benefits to result from this new branch of 
industry, and by proposing to their Society to felicitate M. 
Masson on the perfection of his processes, and M. M. Choi- 
let & Co., on the completeness of their establishment, and 
the quality of the products there prepared. 

No. 2. Abstract of a Report, made on the 19th of May, 
1851, to the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France, 
by a Committee of the Academy, on the processes of M. 
Masson, Chief Gardener of the Central Horticultural Socie- 
ty of France, for preserving alimentary vegetable substances. 

The Committee state that, in these processes, devised by 
M. Masson, and executed at the establishment of M. M. 
Chollet & Co., No. 5, Rue Marbeuf, the operations, few and 
simple, consist in carefully picking the vegetables, removing 
their hard parts, laying them on frames of light linen can- 
vass disposed on lattice shelves in a drying room, exposing 
them there, for a time sufficient to remove the water not ne- 
cessary to their constitution, to dry air, at 48° centigrade 
(118°. 4 Fahrenheit) for the more watery vegetables, ad- 
mitted by a pipe, whilst the moist air is discharged by orifi- 
ces communicating with chimneys, and in subjecting them, 
thus dried, to the powerful compression of the hydraulic 
press. 



27 

The Committee made two experiments at the establishment; 
one on broccoli, the other on spinage^, as follows : 

920 kilogrammes of broccoli, reduced by picking, by 30 
women in one day, to 725 k., spread on 710 canvass frames, 
and exposed for 28 hours in the drying room, to a tempera- 
ture of 40° to 48° centigrade, (104° to 118°. 4 Fahrenheit) 
were reduced to 69 k., of drj'' matter; having thus lost 656 
k. of water, or over 90 per cent, of their former weight, 
evaporated by 300 kilogrammes of charleroi coal. 

820 kilogrammes of spinage, picked in one day, by 30 
women, and thus reduced to 639 k., placed on 710 canvass 
frames in the drying room, were reduced, in 22 hours of 
warming at 40° to 48° centigrade, (104° to 118°. 4 Fahren- 
heit) to 71 k. of dry matter ; having thus lost 568 k. of water, 
or 89 per cent, of their weight, or rather more than seven- 
eighths; the consumption of coal havingbeen 250 k. 

Thus in these two experiments, the enormous proportion 
of seven-eighths of their weight has been taken from, fresh 
vegetables ; that which constitutes the great importance of 
M. Masson's process. 

Pressure by the hydraulic press, then, further reduced the 
volume so as to render the stowage the easiest possible, and 
to bring the density to 500 or 600 kilogrammes the cubic 
metre. 

As to the quality of the products, and the almost perfect 
preservation of their flavor, the Committee of the Academy 
refer to several Naval Reports, an abstract of which will be 
given presently, and cite, in detail, the Report, dated April 
7th, 1851, of a Committee, formed in the port of Cherbourg, 
by order of the Maratime Prefect, to examine the products 
offered by M. M. Chollet &, Co., and prepared by the pro- 
cesses of M. Masson. 

After the Cherbourg Committee had assured themselves, 
by examination, of the good condition, appearance, and odor 
of the products presented for experiment, they immersed 
them in warm water in covered vessels, weighed them before 
and after immersion, and thence determined the quantity of 
water absorbed. 



28 



The results of these well made observations are stated in 
the following table : 





a) 


o 

CD 


a 


5j 


fthe 

efore 

im- 


Kind of Vegetable. 


-°.2 


Eh- 


o.o 


Weight 
immersio 


Relation o 
weights b 
and after 
mersion. 




Grammes, 


Cen. Pahr. 




Grammes. 




Cabbage 


280 


50° 122° 


33 m. 


1.480 


5.30 


Chervil 


73 


45 113 


30 


324 


4.44 


Brussels Sprouts 


139 


50 122 


38 


630 


4.53 


Celery 


130 


50 122 


41 


510 


3.93 


Spin age 


87 


45 113 


30 


475 


5.47 


Julienne 


142 


50 122 


40 


741 


5.22 




4.81 



Thus^ after immersion these vegetables regained the greater 
part of the water which they contained before desiccation. 

The Report of the Committee at Cherbourg, shows that 
these vegetables had resumed also their original flexibility 
and their natural color, and that their forms were so well 
preserved in some of them, particularly in the chervil and the 
Brussels sprouts, that they looked as if they had just been 
gathered. The taste and smell were, also, in a great degree, 
developed by the soaking. 

The cooking of all these vegetables required from an hour 
and a quarter to an hour and three quarters ; and, after 
having seasoned and tasted them, the Cherbourg Committee 
unanimously declared that all were very good, but that the 
spinage and Brussels sprouts had a marked superiority over 
the others, and might have been mistaken for fresh vegeta- 
bles ; thus showing, in the opinion of the Committee, that, 
by the process of M. Masson, the drying of vegetables maj^ 
be performed without injury to their taste, smell, color, nu- 
tritive properties, or wholesomeness ; the very reverse of all 
which takes place in the method of drying usually adopted. 

A subsequent examination of potatoes and carrots produced 
the same satisfactory results, and proved, moreover, that im- 
mersion previous to cooking was not necessary. 



29 

The Cherbourg Committee conclude their Report, with 
the following summary of results, viz. : — 

1st. That vegetables, dried by the process of M. Masson, 
are in a state of perfect preservation. 

2d. That they offer, by very simple means, wholesome and 
agreeable provisions. 

3d. That it would be most advantageous to use them on 
ship board instead of the beans now in use. 

4th. That it would be advisable not to abolish altogether 
the sauer kraut, but to alternate it with the cabbage ; thus 
obtaining all the advantages of a mixed diet. 

5th. That it would be extremely advantageous to apply 
the new process to potatoes and carrots for the provisioning 
of the Navy. 

6th. That it is proper to reserve for the sick, and for those 
who find their own provisions, the celery, the Brussels cab- 
bage, the julienne, and the spinage. 

7th. That the vessels of the fleet should not alone benefit 
by this new invention ; but that it should be used in such of 
our Colonies as have not the advantage of fresh vegetables. 

8th. Lastly, that, in order to solve the problem of the pre- 
servation of vegetables, the Committee recommend that there 
be sent to as many ships as possible, particularly to those 
navigating the tropical seas, an assortment of the vegetables 
prepared by M. Masson. 

In view of this unanimous accord of all the Naval Com- 
mittees, and of the trials made by the Committee of the 
Academy themselves, they entertain no doubt of the success 
of M. Masson's processes for the preservation of alimentary 
vegetable substances ; and, in view of the service which 
these processes are destined to render to the military and 
commercial marine and to the army, the Committee think 
that they merit all the encouragement of the Academy. 

No. 3. The third paper is a Report, dated Brest, May 21st, 
1851, by a Naval Committee, and states the results of their 
experiments on various dried and pressed vegetables of M. 
Masson, as follows : 



30 







«t- 1 


, 




Name. 


^ 


cti o c 
^ o 


s 






'^ 


in ■„ --^ 


o 


-fi (U 




a 


g-s s 


i s" 


^s 




s 


S c a> 


S 2 






Grammes. 


Cen. Fahr. 




Grammes. Deca. 


Parsley 


20 


35° 95° 


35 m. 


52 2 


Chervil 


20 


35 95 


35 


53 5 


Cabbage 


248 


35 95 


38 


630 


Brussels Sprouts 


130 


35 95 


29 


440 


Celery 


125 


35 95 


33 


445 


Julienne 


96 


35 95 


38 


374 


Colewort 


104 


35 95 


64 


374 


Salsify 


130 


35 95 


38 


515 


Spinage 


135 


35 95 


39 


462 



The Committee are of opinion that all the above men- 
tioned vegetables except the Celery, might be used as diet 
for the sick and convalescent, and that the cabbages alone can 
be supplied to the rationed in the Navy for a relish, or in 
place of sauer kraut, and sorrel. They do not think that 
the cabbages can be given to the sailors as a dish instead of 
beans, peas, and falols ; for 53 parts of beans, 68 of faiols, 
or 80 of peas, are equivalent in nutritive matter to 100 of cab- 
bage perfectly dried. 

No. 4. The fourth paper is a Report, also, of a Naval 
Committee, dated Toulon, 25th June, 1851, setting forth the 
results of their experiments on seven kinds of vegetables, 
dried and pressed, eight months previously, by M. Masson's 
processes, and in the form of tablets, 1 1 centimetres square 
and 2 thick, and wrapped in tin foil. Stripped of the foil, 
they were found perfectly dry, with the odor of the fresh ve- 
getables. 

The following table gives their weight before, and after^ 
immersion for 37 minutes in tepid water : 



31 





Before 


Immersion. 


After 1 


nmersiori. 




K. 


Grammes. 


K. 


Grammes. 


Cabbage 





120 





760 


Spinage 





124 





846 


Celery 





120 





520 


Julienne 





119 





630 


Chervil 





067 





280 


Brussels Sprouts 





133 





610 


Potatoes 





100 





465 



Thus^ the weight, from soaking, was increased 5 1-4 fold 
and the volume 8. or 10 fold, that is, returned to the natural 
state ; the physical character, of which desiccation had de- 
prived them, reappearing at the same time. 

They all, when cooked, gave dishes scarcely distinguish- 
able from those of the fresh vegetables. 

The Masson processes of desiccation andcompressiort offer 
to the Navy the double advantage of supplying the want of 
fresh vegetables, and of packing, in a small compass, a quan- 
tity of rations more considerable than that represented by the 
dry vegetables. 

The conclusions of the Committee are, 1st. That the ve- 
getables, dried according to the Masson process, offer suita- 
ble food for the sustenance of the crews ; 

2d. That cabbages and potatoes can be introduced into the 
composition of the ration in place of the dry vegetables deli- 
vered for suppers and for meat dinners; 

3d. That beans, for which the crews generally have a re- 
pugnance, can be suppressed, and replaced by Cabbages and 
potatoes ; 

4th. That, without proscribing peas and faiols, there would 
be room for alternating these vegetables with cabbages and 
potatoes ; 

5th. That the sauer kraut and sorrel can be kept up, 
reducing the quantity ; 

6th. That the other vegetables, such as celery, julienne, 
spinage, should be embarked on board ship for the use of in- 
valids only ; 

7th, Finally, that it is necessary, before modifying the ali- 



32 

mentary system of the crews^ to subject to trial at sea the re- 
sults obtained by the Committee. 

No. 5. The fifth paper contains 4 Reports (referred to un- 
der No. 1 ), made by Committees appointed by the Minister of 
Marine^ to examine certain of the vegetables dried and pre- 
served by the processes of M. Masson^ with reference to their 
introduction into the Naval service. These Reports, an ab- 
stract of which we here subjoin, concur in attesting the good 
quality and complete preservation of these vegetables. 

1st. The first of these four Naval Reports, dated Paris, 
April 15th, 1850, relates to the subject of desiccated cabbage, 
and the effects of immersion. It states that 160 grammes of 
perfectly dry cabbage, prepared about 15 months before, by 
M. Masson, were steeped in tepid water for 30 minutes, at 
the end of which time, being filled out to nearly the size of 
fresh cabbage, and their weight being increased seven fold, 
they were put into hot water, and boiled for three hours. 
Seasoned with salt and pepper, the Committee found them 
very good, with nearly all the flavor of fresh cabbage. 

The Naval Committee think that this cabbage might be 
used for the sailors at sea, not only as a relish in place of 
sauer kraut, but as a meal, instead of the beans served out for 
supper, and of the 60 grammes of dry vegetables given at salt 
dinners. The quantities to be given might be in the follow- 
ing proportions : 

As a relish instead of sauer 
kraut, ------ 040 grammes, soaked cabbage. 

For supper instead of beans 200 '^ " do. 

For salt dinners, - - - 100 " dried do. 

The Naval Committee add that the expense of the dried 
cabbage is less than that of sauer kraut, and also of beans, 
which latter French sailors eat with very great repugnance. 

As to stowage, they say, it would occupy less room than 
sauer kraut and beans ; for there can be packed in a cubic 
metre (29TVTr'Tr Enghsh inches,) 400 to 450 kilogrammes of 
dry pressed cabbage leaves, which, when soaked, represent 
3,200 to 3,600 kilogrammes of the fresh, which afford 16,000 
to 18,000 rations, at 200 grammes each. 

The Naval Committee is of opinion, likewise, that the 
great pressure, undergone by the cabbage, must preserve it 



33 

from the penetration of moisture;, and that its enclosure in 
wooden boxes, well made, and of a convenient size for easy 
stowage, would ensure its keeping. This opinion is con- 
firmed by the trial made in the Corvette, the Astrolabe ; 
where a box of M. Masson's unpressed cabbage was opened 
after more than a year's cruising, when the cabbage was 
found perfectly preserved, and to be, when cooked, of a plea- 
sant savor and good taste. 

The Naval Committee conclude their Report with the re- 
commendation that there be placed on board of two large 
vessels, one of which should belong to the Senegal station, a 
quantity of these cabbages sufficient for trial, and for deter- 
mining, at the same time, if the amount of water required 
for cooking this new aliment is in relation with the resources 
of the vessels. 

2d. The second of the above mentioned Naval Reports is 
dated Paris, the 11th day of February, 1851. It states the 
results of three trials, by the Committee, on a box of M. 
Masson's unpressed cabbage, which had been nearly four 
years on board the Astrolabe in the La Plata. The box was 
of tin, set in one of wood. It was 31 centimetres long, 15 
broad, and 16 high, and contained 785 grammes of mipressetZ 
dried cabbage. The cabbage appeared quite dry, and was 
yellow, and of a sourish smell. 

In the first trial, 250 grammes, soaked for an hour in warm 
water and drained, weighed 1250 grammes, and, after an 
hour's boiling, weighed 1600 grammes. The sourish smell, 
which had been increased by the soaking, disappeared en- 
tirely on boiling. The boiled cabbage had a perfectly natural 
and agreeable taste, but was hard and httle cooked, attributed 
to the water of immersion having, perhaps, been too warm, 
and to the boiling's having been for only an hour. 

In the second trial, 200 grammes, steeped for an hour in 
water exactly tepid, gave 1050 grammes, which a two hours' 
boiling increased to 1300 grammes. Dressed with butter 
and lard, they made an excellent dish ; the cabbage being 
very well cooked, the large stalks alone being rather hard. 

In the third trial, 100 grammes, cooked, for at least three 
hours, in weak broth, differed scarcely perceptibly from fresh 
cabbage. 



34 

From these trialsj the Naval Committee draw the follow- 
ing, results^ viz. : — 

1st. M. Masson's process succeeds in preserving dried cab- 
bage for nearly four years, provided that it be packed, without 
pressure, in a metal box hermetically closed. 

2d. The immersion in tepid water, for one hour, causes 
the absorption of much liquid, and the swelling of parts of 
the vegetables, which resume their original form and con- 
sistence. 

3d. The cooking should be continued for two or three 
hours. 

4th. The vegetable when cooked, weighs about six and 
a half times as much as when dry. 

5th. Properly cooked it has given satisfactory results, 
having a pleasant taste, much like that of the fresh cabbage. 

The Committee remark that the bulk of this impressed 
dried cabbage is much too great for them to recommend its 
use on ship board. They are aware, however, that M. Mas- 
son proposes to subject to the hydraulic pressure quantities of 
the dried cabbage, and to form it into tablets, which in a 
small volume, shall represent a considerable weight. Whilst 
reserving, therefore, their opinion on this mode of prepara- 
tion and its preservation by some other means than in tin 
cases, they would not hesitate, except from considerations of 
economy, to recommend its general adoption in the Navy, 
provided that the advantages resulting from smallness of bulk, 
great facility of stowage, and the use of cases less expensive 
than "those of tin, should not have been procured at any inju- 
ry to the quality of the vegetable. 

3d. According to the third of the Naval Reports, dated 
Paris, 6th March, 1851, the tablet of M. Masson's compressed 
dried cabbage experimented on was 10 centimetres (StVAV 
English inches) square, and 2 centimetres thick. 

The weight of tiie tablet, in its tin foil cover- 
ing, was - - - - - - 1 45 grammes. 

The weight of the tin foil covering, - - 015 

The net weight of the cabbage, - - - 130 

60 Grammes of this cabbage, immersed for one hour in 
water at 35° cendgrade, (95° Fahrenheit) and drained, 
weighed 355 grammes, which, after two hours boiling, in- 
creased to 380 grammes; a six-fold increase after immer- 



35 

sion, and a six and a half fold after boiling. The taste was 
pronounced excellent^ showing that the dried and pressed 
cabbage of M. Masson retained the flavor and other quali- 
ties of the fresh. 

4th. The fourth Naval Report^ dated Paris, March 14th, 
1851, sets forth that 200 grammes of '^Julienne,'' immersed 
for 12 minutes in water at 35° centigrade, (95° Fahrenheit) 
and drained, gave 960 grammes, which, seasoned with but- 
ter, pepper and salt, and cooked for an hour, made a very 
good soup ; the vegetable being tender and of a pleasant flavor. 

It states, also, that 100 grammes of spinage, placed for 20 
minutes over a fire, in a skillet containing boiling water, and 
then drained, Aveighed 620 grammes — dressed with butter 
and placed again oyer the fire for 30 minutes, they found a 
delicious dish, differing in no appreciable respect from fresh 
spinage. 

No. 6. Remarks of M. Gannal on the vegetables desicca- 
ted by his process, with his directions for cooking them. 

The quantity of water and sap contained in a vegetable 
varies considerably with the kind, the part, and the period 
of vea:etation. 

o 

In order to preserve dried vegetables from changes of tem- 
perature, humidity, dust and insects, M. Gannal places the 
choice and costly ones in glass vessels, and those for the crew 
in boxes lined with zinc. 

As to the cooking, they should, with few exceptions, be 
put into cold water properly salted. 

The fire should be moderate at the beginning, and should 
not cause boiling until after one quarter of an hour. 

Cabbages should be steeped in luke warm water for two 
hours before cooking. 

Carrots and turnips should be steeped in salted cold water 
for six or eight hours. 

Potatoes, termed French Tapioca, should be thrown into 
boiling water, whether for soup or being mashed. 

A summary of M. GannaPs statistics is presented in the 
following table, in which the first column of figures gives the 
number of grammes in one Htre of each vegetable ; the 2d, 
the cost per kilogramme in francs and centimes ; the 3d, the 
cost per litre with the glass flacon containing it ; and the 4th, 
the number of rations in each litre. 

5 ' . 



36 



A Litre is 6]tVA English cubic inches. 
A Hectolitre is 6, 102 A. 

A Kilogramme (or 1000 grammes) is 2 lb. 3 oz. 5 dr 
Avoirdupois. 

A Franc is 18J cents. 

A Centime is the 100th part of a franc. 





Grammes 


Cost per 


Cost per 


Rations 




in 1 Litre. 


Kiloff 


ramme. 


Litre. 


in 1 Litre. 






F. 


C. 


F. C. 




Julienne 


500 


3 


20 


2 80 


24 


Green Cabbage 




1 


05 






Red Cabbage 




1 


40 






Milan Cabbage 




1 


05 






Brussels Cabbage 


120 


3 


45 


1 20 


4 


Cauliflower 


200 


4 


15 


2 20 


4 


Green Peas 


600 






4 00 


24 


French Tapioca 


500 




30 




10 


Turnips 


160 


1 


75 


6 00 


3i 


Saecory 


180 


2 


00 


1 40 


4 


Spina ge 


160 


1 


80 


1 65 




Sorrel 


160 


1 


80 


1 65 




Carrots 


350 


2 


05 


80 


7 


String Beans 




7 


60 






Flageolet Beans 


860 






1 40 


8 


Pumpkin 


250 


1 


00 


1 15 




Beets 




2 


00 






Mushrooms 








5 00 





The juhenne of M. Gannal is composed of ten different ve- 
getables^ and contains, in every 127 grammes, (a quantity 
sufficient for a soup for six persons,) the following, viz : — 
White beans 20 grammes, cauhflower 10, leeks 5, peas 20, 
celery 5, carrots 20, turnips 15, chervil 2, cabbage 15, and 
string beans 15. 

None of the articles of M. Gannal have been pressed ; al- 
though he expressed his intention to adopt that method with 
most of them. 

No. 7. The 7th paper is a Report, dated Toulon, April 
17th, 1849, of a Naval Committee, on the subject of pre- 
served milk (conserve de lait), prepared by a process in- 
vented by M. de Lignac. 



37 

The milk, of the consistence of a soft paste, is contained in 
tin canisters, which weigh about 800 grammes each, and of 
which the tin weighs 175 grammes. On exposure to the air 
for 15 days, the milk lost ]5 grammes. The Committee 
made several trials with the milk, by adding a certain quan- 
tity of it to four times its weight of warm water, and boilini; 
it for a few minutes, with the invariable result of producing 
a homogeneous milk, pure, natural and agreeable ; in a word, 
entirely similar to boiled fresh milk sweetened ; — although, 
in one instance, the milk had, before the experiment, been 
exposed to the air for a week ; and, in another instance, for 
two weeks. 

The Committee assured themselves of the keeping proper- 
ties of the preserved milk, by exposing two open canisters 
( from which part of the milk had been removed for the ex- 
periments,) to the air, for two and three weeks, respectively, 
with the result of finding, in both instances, that the milk 
continued in a state of perfect preservation at the end of that 
time. 

With such facts before them, and after unsuccessful com- 
parative trials with the "lait double," the Committee is of 
opinion that the ^^conserve de lait" of M. de Lignac is supe- 
rior to all other preparations of milk hitherto used in the 
Navy, and should be substituted in place of the "lait double" 
now in use. 

As respects the question of economy, the Committee state 
the cost at 6f. 50c. the kilogramme of the concentrated milk, 
or If. 30c. the kilogramme of the diluted milk, that is, 24il 
cents for 2 lb. 3 oz. 5 dr. of milk, of the ordinary density and 
richtiess. The concentrated milk contains, in every kilo- 
gramme (1000 grammes), 150 gr. of sugar, put in to pre- 
serve the milk. 

It must be remarked here that the Committee diluted the 
preserved milk with only 4 times its weight in water; where- 
as M. de Lignac directs 5 times the weight of water to be 
used in order to reduce it to the consistency of common milk. 

No. 8. The eighth paper is a Report, dated Nov. 5th, 1849, 
of a Committee of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute 
of France, in relation to a memoir of M. de Lignac, on the 
product of milch cows, and the fabrication of preserved milk 
(conserve de lait,) 



38 

The Committee state that M. de Lignac^ with a view to 
assure the concentration and preservation of milk, without 
depriving it of any of its constituents^ fulfils the following 
conditions : 

1st. He procures milk of excellent quahty, obtained during 
the pasturing season^ not employing that of stable-fed cows. 

2d. The quantity of milk to be prepared at one time, is 
obtained from nearly simultaneous milkingSj so as to avoid ex- 
posing it to spontaneous alterations. 

3d. It is concentrated in a flat, shallow vessel ; the depth 
of the milk not exceeding 2 or 3 centimetres (.78742 or 
1.18113 English inches). 

4th. The heat^ applied for evaporation and concentration^ 
is communicated by steam circulating in a double envelope^ 
so as not to raise the temperature of the milk to the boiling point. 

5th. 75 to 80 grammes of white sugar per litre of milk, 
(about 3 ounces to the quart) are in the first place dissolved 
in it, as an antiseptic and a condiment. 

6th. The evaporation of the milk, thus sugared^, is hastened 
by constant stirring. 

7th. When reduced to two tenths of its original volume, the 
milk is poured into cylindrical tin canisters, containing each a 
half htrC;, or a litre; (nearly a quart) and the canisters are 
closed by soldering the covers with bands of tin that may be 
cut around so as to open the canisters without difficulty. 

The preserved milk, thus prepared, has already received 
the sanction of extensive use, and has been introduced into 
the Navies of France and England. 

From opportunities of comparing, at the end of voyages, 
M. de Lignac's "conserve de lait'' with the "lait double,'' 
till then used in the French Navy, the Committee think the 
former not subject to the changes and decomposition which 
the latter undergoes. 

The "Conserve de Lait" is a paste, with the odor of boiled 
milk. It mixes easily with warm water^ and, when boiled with 
4 times its amount of water, it has the composition and all the 
properties of common milk boiled; so that, in tea^ coffee and 
chocolate, it would be difficult to distinguish them from those 
containing common boiled milk sweetened. 

The "Conserve de Lait," exposed in an open canister for 
15 days, gave, on trial, similar results to those above stated. 



39 

It appears from the above that the "Conserve de Lait" is 
susceptible of long preservation ; and it is hence, in the opin- 
ion of the Committee, especially applicable to the provision- 
ing of the Navy. 

The Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing states, 
in a series of "observations/^ with which, he accompanied the 
submission of the above enumerated papers to the Board, 
that "this preparation of milk has superseded, in consequence 
" of its superior quality, all other preparations of milk, and 
" is the only kind used in the French and English navies 
" and hospitals ; M. de Lignac having the contract for sup- 
" plying both Governments." 

No. 9. The only remaining paper, submitted to us from 
the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, touching the subject 
of our Report, and requiring a notice in this place, is a printed 
pamphlet filled with testimonials to the excellence of the "Pre- 
served Potato" of Messrs. D. & H. Edwards & Co., af Lon- 
don. 

Of these testimonials, five are from the distinguished chem- 
ists Brande, lire, Daniell, Paris and Taylor, who express the 
opinion that the "Preserved Potato" is pure and without ad- 
mixture; that it may be kept for any length of time without 
liability to decay or change in any climate ; that its compara- 
tive nutritive powers are to those of the fresh potato as about 
four to one ; that the process for its preservation is, chemi- 
cally considered, the best possible ; that it is a wholesome 
and agreeable preparation of the nutritious parts of the root, 
not distinguishable in flavor (when cooked according to the 
printed directions accompaning it) from fresh and well boiled 
mealy potatoes ; that it contains all the nutritious properties 
of those vegetables ; that it is well adapted as an article of 
food ; and that it is a very good substitute for the fresh root. 

Of the other testimonials, which are very numerous, many 
are in the form of special Reports required by, and made to, 
the British Government, by Surgeons of the army and navy, 
on foreign stations, many of them in charge of Hospitals in 
the East and West Indies, and all bearing, in the most ample 
and satisfactory manner, one uniform and positive testimony 
to the "Preserved Potato" as a valuable, nutritious, and 
agreeable ardcle of diet to the sick and the well, retaining 



40 

all its original qualities without change for years, and being 
very valuable to sailors and soldiers in long voyages and on 
stations where vegetables are scarce and of inferior quality, 
and as having in several instances been found an excellent 
antiscorbutic. 

The rest of the Pamphlet is filled with testimonials from 
commanding officers in the military and mercantile Marine, 
all certifying as to the keeping properties of the "Preserved 
Potato," and as to its great value as an' addition to a ship's 
stores, particularly on a long voyage. 

The "Preserved Potato" is packed in I cwt. metal cases, 
and is also supplied in 56 lb., 28 lb., and 14 lb. cases, con- 
taining, according to the Messrs. Edwards, in a concentrated 
form, the equivalent of five times those quantities of the vege- 
table. It is offered for sale at a price that makes the vegeta- 
ble, when cooked, as cheap as potatoes in the ordinary state. 

After this summary of facts and opinions touching the ar- 
ticles submitted for our examination, we proceed to lay before 
the Department a statement of our examinations and experi- 
ments ; in making which we conformed to the directions given 
by the preparers of the substances ; and also, in order to ar- 
rive at the most satisfactory results, we repeated most of the 
experiments, varying the manner of making them. 



EDWARDS' "PATENT PRESERVED POTATO." 

The two specimens of this article submitted to the Board 
for examination were in heavy tin cases, well adapted to 
transportation, and marked with the quantity in each. — 
Printed direcdons for preparing the vegetable for table use, 
and testimonials as to its value, from Brande, Ure, Paris, 
and a number of army and navy surgeons, and others, ac- 
companied it. In the experiments about to be detailed, the 
Board have conformed to the directions in the strictest man- 
ner, except where it is expressly stated to the contrary. 

According to these, boiling water, in the proportion of 
about two partsof water to one of potatoes, is to be poured upon 



41 

the latter; and;, aftei being well stirred, the mixture is to be 
allowed to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes. Then 
mash the potatoes well, season with salt and butter to suit 
the taste, and the process of cooking will be completed. 
Dr. lire has repeated the experiment^ observing the propor- 
tions recommended by the inventor ; but he states that it is 
preferable to employ three times^ instead of tiDice, the quan- 
tity of water. 

Before proceeding to the trials designed to be made with 
this article, the Board examined it very carefully in the crude 
state, and found the samples taken from the two cases not to 
present any appreciable marks of difference. One descrip- 
tion, therefore, of their physical qualities will apply to both. 
When opened, the contents of the cases appeared in the form 
of small, rough granules, of a dirty whitish color, with specks 
of a black substance interspersed (probably the eyes care- 
lessly left in preparing the root,) and imparted a faint odor 
and taste of boiled potatoes. The taste, however, was more 
bitter, and the smell ranker. Intermixed with the larger 
grains were some smaller ones, and also a considerable quan- 
tity of powdery matter, which seemed to result from the at- 
trition of the larger granules. The contents of both cases 
were perfectly dry, and as free as possible from mustiness of 
smell. 

Experiment 1. Upon fib. of the potato, taken from the 
small case marked as containing 28 lbs. net, was poured one 
quart of boihng water. The mass having been sufficiently 
incorporated by stirring, the vessel containing it was covered 
and set by a hot fire for i hour. When mashed, it had a dirty 
whitish color, an unpleasant earthy smell, and a disagreeable 
bitter taste, resembling that of the worst varieties of the yam. 
The black specks, alluded to in the description of the crude 
vegetable, were now very conspicuous, and gave a mottled 
aspect to the mixture. The consistency of the mass was 
about that of mashed boiled potatoes, but rather more watery. 
Seasoning with salt and butter partially removed the bad taste 
and smell, but left the compound still very unlike, and vastly 
inferior to, the recently cooked fresh root. When the pre- 
served potato, after being thus dressed, was further baked in 
small cakes, its flavor underwent great improvement, and as- 



42 

similated it much nearer to the vegetable as usually prepared 
for the table. 

Experiment 2. One quart of boiUng water was, in like 
manner, poured upon f lb. of the potato from the large case 
marked as containing 56 lbs. net, and the mass treated as in 
the preceding experiment. The result differed in no respect 
from the former. 

ExPERiMEXT 3. One pound of potato taken from the small 
case, was next treated with 3 lbs. of boiling v/ater, (these be- 
ing the relative proportions advised by Dr. Ure,) and the 
residue of the process was conducted, as in the two former 
experiments, with no appreciable difference in the results. 

Experiment 4. The same quantity of the potato from the 
larger case, treated with the same proportion of boiling water^ 
gave the like product. 

This concluded our experiments with Edwards' " Patent 
Preserved Potato." Judging from these results, as well as 
from the sensible qualities of the substance as it existed in the 
two cases, the Board have not been able to form other than 
a low estimate of its value as an article of food for the navy. 
Cooked in whatever mode, it was still disagreeable to the 
palate, the nose, and the eye, and induced us to think that 
the samples we examined must have been manufactured from 
tubers which were in a diseased state at the period of gath- 
ering them. It was evidently an exceedingly common, crude, 
and unwholesome preparation. 

As we are nowhere informed of the process by which the 
" Preserved Potato" of the Messrs. Edwards' is prepared, we 
can obviously form no opinion, in the absence of specimens 
prepared from sound and carefully selected roots, of the prob- 
able qualities of the substance if prepared from such roots. 
The article, as it was submitted to us, was so inferior in every 
particular, that we cannot approve it. 



43 



M A S S N'S 
DESICCATED VEGETABLE ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 

These are directed to be prepared for table use^ by first 
immersing them in lukewarm water for half an hour^ or in 
cold for six or eight hoiirs^ and then boiling them over a brisk 
fire, from H hour to 3 hours, according as the time required 
for cooking the vegetables in their natural state is longer or 
shorter. After undergoing a thorough cooking, they are to 
be well drained, and then seasoned with butter, salt, or other 
condiment, according to circumstances. They are said to be 
now fit for the table. These directions have been fully com.- 
plied with in the trials which the Board made with the arti- 
cles of M. Masson. 

POTATOES— POMMES DE TERRE. 

The sample submitted to the Board was contained in an 
open paper, and had been exposed to the weather for a length 
of time. It appeared in transverse slices, with some of the 
eyes still in them, of a horny texture, and about a line and a 
half in thickness. The color was a dull yellow, the odor 
faint, and the taste mawkish. The fracture of the pieces was 
sharp and corneous. The specimen bore a decided resem- 
blance, in general appearance, to slices of the fresh root dried 
at a moderate temperature ; though, in reference to taste and 
smell, the dissimilarity was quite as decided. It was in a re- 
markably dry state, notwithstanding the prolonged exposure 
to the air. 

Experiment 5. Two ozs. of the potato, after having been 
immersed in a pint of hot water about an hour, had swollen 
a little and become softer, though still quite tough and 
leathery. The water was somewhat discolored, and had, in 
a slight degree, the odor and taste of raw potatoes. When 
drained, they were found to weigh 3A ozs., and the water 
left from immersion to measure 13 ozs. To the water of im- 
mersion was added a sufficiency of fresh water of the tem- 
perature of the air to make a pint. In this the potatoes were 
boiled for an hour; at the end of which time the pieces were 
found still distinct, and could, with difficulty, be mashed into 
a homogeneous mass. They were much charred, and ad- 
6 



44 

hered to the sides of the vessel used in cooking ; this not pro- 
ceeding from anv neglect on our part to watch the process^ 
but from the quantity of water being too small. Notwith- 
standing this unfavorable termination of the experiment, the 
general appearance, odor, and, in a less degree, the taste, of 
the substance somewhat resembled those of roasted potatoes. 
The weight was 3 ozs. 

Experiment 6. The same quantity, immersed in 1 pint 
of water at 65° F., was found at the end of 2i hours, hard, 
leathery, and but slightly swelled. The water of immersion 
retained scarcely any distinctive character; it measured 14 
ozs. The potatoes, when well drained, weighed 3/^ ozs. 
They were next boiled 1 hour in two pints of water, (including 
that used in immersion;) and, at the end of the process, it was 
found that the whole of the water had been dissipated. 
Their weight was 7 ozs. All of the pieces were separate; 
and some could not be reduced to the consistency of mashed 
potatoes. That portion which was susceptible of being 
mashed, was seasoned with butter and salt. It then tasted, 
smelt, and looked precisely like the uncharred portions of the 
first product. 

The taste of this substance, prepared in both ways, was 
disagreeable in a marked degree. This, coupled with its 
bulkiness, forbids the introduction of the article into the navy 
for the subsistence of the men ; though, in the opinion of the 
Board, it is far from being so bad a preparation as the speci- 
mens of potato, submitted to uSj of the Messrs. Edwards. 

CABBAGE— CHOUX. 

ExPERiBiENT 7. A tablet of 5 rations, in good condition 
and perfectly free from moisture. On removing the tin foil 
in which it was wrapped, the tablet was found to be composed 
of the closely compressed leaves and stems of the plant. On 
breaking it open, the interior exhaled a pleasant aromatic 
odor, and had, when chewed, a sweetish mucilaginous taste; 
both resembling those of fresh cabbage. The color of the 
leaves was dull yellow, mingled with a bright green; and, be- 
ing in a fine state of preservation, with their veins and nerves 
quite distinct, they looked very much like the fresh vegetable. 
The tablet measured 4 inches square by f in thickness, and 
weighed 4/? ozs. net. This was immersed, after having been 



45 

picked to pieces, for i hour, in 2 quarts of water at 90° F. 
At tlie end of that time it was removed from the water, and 
suffered to drain thoroughly. It now weighed ItI lb., was 
swollen, and had become softer; but it was still tough, 
crackled between the teeth when masticated, and bore a greater 
resemblance than before to boiled fresh cabbage. The water 
oflmmersion measured 3 pints, and was of the color of weak 
brandy and water, with the flavor of cabbage, but more 
sweetish. Boiled in 7 pints of water, (including that of im- 
mersion,) it became necessary, in 2i hours, to add two quarts 
of boiling water, to save the cabbage from being burnt. The 
boiling consumed 3i hours, and was done over a very hot 
wood Are. Drained and weighed, the vegetable went up to 
1 lb. 13i ozs. Still.it could not be said to be cooked enough; 
because, whilst the smaller leaves were moderately soft and 
tender, the large stems and thicker leaves remained tough 
and leathery. In appearance, taste, smell, &c., however, it 
resembled boiled fresh cabbage very much. The water left 
after cooking was dark colored and turbid, smelt and tasted 
strongly of cabbage, and was found to measure 1| pints. 

Experiment 8. Cabbage — Choux. An oblong tablet of 
10 rations formed the subject of this experiment. In sensi- 
ble qualities and mode of packing, it did not differ materially 
from that just described. Its net weight w^as 7i% ozs , being 
considerably less than the weight of two of the smaller tablets, 
although it was marked to contain twice as many portions as 
either of them. The whole tablet, well picked into small 
pieces, was immersed for i hour in 5 quarts of water at 90° 
F. When drained, it weighed 2^ lbs. ; and presented the 
same properties as in the former instance. The water of im- 
mersion measured 6 pints. Boiled for 3i hours in 2i gallons 
of water, (including water of immersion and 1 gallon added 
daring the cooking,) it weighed, when drained, 3 lbs. If ozs., 
was somewhat softer, less leathery, and altogether better done 
than in the preceding trial. The water left after cooking, 
amounted to 2i pints. Well seasoned with salt and butter, 
both specimens furnished a dish which evidently only needed 
to be better cooked, to be very palatable to those fond of the 
vegetable. It was clear, however, to the Board that boiling 
for nearly four hours over a most intensely hot fire, and the 
liberal employment of water, had not sufficed to bring either 



46 

specimen to a state which might be safely pronounced di- 
gestible. 

CARROTS— GAROTTES. 

Experiment 9. A tablet four inches square by one-half 
thick; containing 5 rations^ and weighing 4if ozs. net^ was 
next subjected to experiment. Its state of preservation was 
of the best ; and it had evidently been kept quite dry. It was 
composed of thin slices, resembling the fresh plant in color, 
taste, and smell; but these qualities were all fainter and 
feebler than in the latter. The entire tablet being separated, 
and immersed in 3 pints of water at 110° F. for one-half hour, 
was found, when taken out and drained, to weigh 1 lb., to be 
much swollen, and tough, and to have the sweetish taste of 
carrots. The water of immersion measured 2i% pints, had 
the same taste of carrots, and resembled the serum of the 
blood in color. It was now boiled in 3 pints of water, (in- 
cluding that of immersion;) but two pints of boiling water 
had to be added before the process was over. In 2f hours 
the vessel was removed from the fire, and the carrots drained. 
They now weighed 1 lb. 9f ozs., and were not softened 
enough for use, though tasting and smelling strongly like the 
fresh vegetable. The water from cooking measured 4 ozs., 
and was sweetish, and of a pale straw color. 

Experiment 10. Carrots — Carottes. A tablet, precisely 
like the former in its general aspect, but weighing only 411 ozs., 
was, after separation, immersed for half an hour in two pints 
of water at 78°. It then weighed 134 ozs., and the water 
measured Ih pints. The carrots were less swollen and harder 
than in the preceding experiment. They were next boiled 
in half a gallon of water, (including that of immersion;) but 
3 pints of boihng water v/ere added before the conclusion of 
the process. In 21 hours the water had all disappeared, 
leaving the carrots better cooked than the first specimen, and 
manifesting most of the physical qualities of the fresh vege- 
table. Their weight amounted to 1 lb. Hi ozs. With sea- 
soning of salt and butter they made, for a vegetable not 
thoroughly cooked, a good dish. 

In neither case were the carrots as thoroughly done as they 
ought to be, to constitute a perfectly palatable and digestible 
article of food. If this objection could be removed by longer 



47 

boilingj or by boiling in contact with other vegetables, or with 
bacon, as it probably could be, the Board would pronounce 
them an excellent dish, recalling, in a high degree, the e|uali- 
ties of the fresh plant, and valuable, under many circum- 
stances, on board ship. 

TURNIPS— NA VETS. 

Experiment 11. Turnips — Navets. The subject of the 
present experiment, were in the form of a tablet of 5 rations, 
which weighed 5tV ozs., and measured 4| inches square by 
f thick. It was composed of shces, having a dull yellowish 
color, and somewhat of the smell and taste of the fresh vege- 
table ; the latter being perhaps rather more sweetish. Though 
perfectly dry throughout, it appeared to be swollen, as if the 
damaged condition of its coating of tin foil had permitted the 
imbibition of water; and it was certainly larger and more 
heavy than the tablet of 5 rations employed in the succeeding 
experiment. Separated, and immersed for half an hojir in 3 
pints of water at 110° F., it was found to weigh lA lb., to 
be swelled, and to have the taste and smell of turnips. It 
was also very tough. The water of immersion had a sweet 
taste, high color, and measured li pints. After 3i hours 
constant boiling over a brisk fire in 6 pints of water, increased 
during the process by the addition of 2 gallons of boiling 
water, the turnips weighed 1 lb. 1111 ozs., and the water, 
left after draining, amounted to half a pint. The turnips 
were only tolerably done, not readily mashed into a uniform 
mass, and possessed the smell and taste of the fresh plant to 
a very limited degree. The water of immersion was of the 
color of brandy and water, but dirty. 

Experiment 12. This tablet measured 4i inches square 
by one-half thick, and weighed net 4tI ozs. It exactly re- 
sembled the previous specimen in appearance, &c., &.C., and 
was moreover in the dry est state. Separated, and immersed 
half an hour in 3 pints of water at 65° F., it increased in 
weight to 1 lb. 4i ozs., while the water was reduced to lit 
pint. The water was a dirty brandy-colored liquid; and the 
turnips were still but litde swelled and very tough. 3 quarts of 
fresh cold water (with one pint of hot subsequently added) 
were poured upon them; and the boiling kept up for 32 hours. 
The turnips, when drained, weighed \\l lb., and were tough, 



fibrous, and incapable of being mashed into a soft mass. 
They retained little of the flavor and smell of fresh turnips. 
The water left from cooking measured 1| pints. It was a 
brandy-colored fluid, and had the taste of turnips. 

Neither experiment yielded an article fit for food. The 
Board, therefore, unhesitatingly condemn the specimens ex- 
perimented on, as worthless, in an alimentary point of view, 
for the navy. 

JULIENNE. 

Experiment 13. A tablet of 5 rations, 4 inches square by 
one-half thick, and weighing 4tV ozs., formed the subject of 
this experiment. It was in the usual excellent state of pre- 
servation, and was apparently made up almost entirely of car- 
rots and cabbage, having a musty odor, and a mawkish and 
mucilaginous taste. Separated, and immersed half an hour 
in 3 pints of water at 90° F., it increased in weight to 22 ozs., 
was somewhat swelled, and had a strong sweet taste like that 
of carrots. The water of immersion measured, after draining, 
2 pints, was high colored, and possessed a very sweet, rather 
disagreeable, taste. The carrots, though more crisp than 
when first immersed, were stiU tough and hard. Boiled in 7 
pints of water, (including that of immersion,) with 4 pints 
subsequently added, it required Si hours to complete the 
cooking. At its termination, the vegetables were rather soft, 
far from palatable, and still not sufficiently cooked. Their 
weight was now 1 lb. 9 ozs., and their appearance much like 
that of the respective fresh plants. The soup measured li 
pints, was of a deep straw color, and possessed the flavor of 
carrots. Whilst being in a measure palatable, it was decid- 
edly meager, and seemed to be little more than a decoction of 
the predominant vegetable. 

Experiment 14. A tablet of Julienne of 10 portions, 4 
inches broad, 8 long and one-half thick, dry and in good con- 
dition, was next examined. Like the former, it appeared 
constituted of carrots and cabbage, and weighed 9^ ozs. It 
had a pale yellow and green color, a mucilaginous, sweetish 
taste, and a peculiar unpleasant odor. Separated, and im- 
mersed for 35 minutes in water at 65° F., it yielded, after 
draining, a dirty looking liquid, of a sickening taste, measur- 
ing 2 pints. The vegetables were very tough, and gave a 



49 

weight of 2 lbs. 9i ozs. Rejecting the water of immersioiij 
the Julienne was next put into 12 pints of cold water^ to which 
6 pints of hot water were added during the process of cook- 
ing; and the boiling was maintained for 4 hours over a brisk 
fire. The product was a very thin pottage, of a pale straw 
color, and a repulsive odor. The vegetables were weighed, 
and found to have augmented their weight to 3t\ lbs. The 
soup measured 4 pints. 

In both trials, notwithstanding an enormous expenditure of 
fuel, water, and time, the vegetables were not sufficiently 
cooked to be pleasant to the palate, or wholesome for the 
stomach; thus affording another instance of the great diffi- 
culty generally experienced throughout our experiments, in 
boiling the compressed alimentary substances olMasson enough 
to fit them for table use. The Board was so unfavorably im- 
pressed with the result of both experiments that they did not 
think it worth while to try the effect of a more protracted 
ebullition. 

SUCCORY— WILD ENDIVE— CHICOREE. 

ExPERiME]?fT 15. A single tablet weighing 44 ozs. net, and 
found to be in good condition, formed the subject of this ex- 
periment. It had a herbaceous smell, a pale yellowish color, 
with green intermixed, and a taste, at first mucilaginous, but 
followed by bitterness on long chewing. The tablet, well 
separated, and immersed in 5 pints of water at 98°, became 
in half an hour much enlarged in bulk, had acquired a dis- 
agreeable taste and sickenmg smell, and imparted to the 
water a bitter quahty, along with the color of pale brandy. 
it weighed lA lb. The water of immersion, after the plant 
was withdrawn, measured Sh pints. The succory was now 
put into a vessel containing 3 quarts of cold water, and placed 
on the fire to boil. Before the 3i hours consumed in this 
process were out, it became necessary to add 12 pints of hot 
water; yet of all this only 3 pints were left at its termination. 
The plant was then well drained, and found to weigh 2tV lbs. 
It was hard, stringy, tough, tasteless, and unfit to be eaten. 

The Board are unable to conceive of any uses to which so 
forbidding a substance as succory, when thus prepared, can be 
applied on board the vessels of our navy, and therefore con- 
demn it as perfectly worthless in every point of view. 



50 

PARSLEY— PERSIL. 

Experiment 16. The sample used for the experimenc 
was in good condition^ weighing 3i ozs. net. It measured 4 
inches square, by one-half thick. The color of the tablet was 
a beautiful apple-green; it emitted a peculiar heavy smell, 
and possessed a disagreeable parsley-like taste. It appeared 
to be composed of the leaves and stems of the plant. Sep- 
arated, and immersed for half an hour in 3 pints of water at 
90° F., and then strained, it weighed I3f ozs , was acrid to 
the taste, and had almost the precise odor of the fresh vege- 
table. The water of immersion measured 2 pints. After 
34 hours boiling in 8 pints of water, (including that of immer- 
sion,) it was found to weigh, when drained, 13 ozs., and to 
be still most repugnant to the senses of taste and smell, besides 
not being nearly as much cooked as it should be. During the 
cooking, it was found necessary to increase the quantity of 
water by 7i pints, to save the substance from being burnt up 
before its termination. The water, left after the cooking, 
amounted to 1 quart of a high-colored dirty liquid, offensive 
alike to the palate and to the nose. As for the parsley itself, 
it was hard and stringy, and had swollen very little for the 
large proportion of water expended in its preparation. 

The Board cannot express too unfavorable an opinion of it. 

STRING BEANS— HARICOTS VERTS. 

Experiment 17. A tablet measuring 4 inches square by 
rather less than one-half thick, weighed only 21 ozs. net. It 
was composed of beans easily separated from each other, of a 
dull dark green hue, faint odor, a not unpleasant taste, and 
in an excellent state of preservation. The tablet, separated, 
and immersed in 4 pints of water at 110° F. for half an hour, 
augmented its weight to 1\ ozs., and had acquired the taste 
and smell of the fresh plant to a certain extent. The beans 
remained hard and tough. A dirty discolored fluid, having a 
raw mawkish taste, and measuring 34: pints, represented the 
water of immersion left after the drainage of the beans. The 
beans were now boiled for 2i hours in 7\ pints of water, 
(including the water of immersion;) and, during the process, 
I quart of boiling water was added, with the following result : 
12 ozs. was now the weight of the drained vegetable, which 



51 

had the appearance of fresh beaiis^ but without much of their 
savor, and was manifestly not enough cooked The water 
remaining after the completion of the process, measured 4 
ozs., was nauseous to the palate, and was high colored and 
dirty. 

ExPERiMEi^T 18. This tablet weighed 2A- ozs., and was 
found perfectly dry and well preserved. The tablet, sepa- 
rated, was immersed I hour in 3 pints of water at 60° F., 
with the effect of increasing its weight to 6 ozs. The water 
of immersion showed, after draining, a measure of 21* pints. 
Boiled in one gallon of fresh water, (that of immersion hav- 
ing been thrown away,) with the subsequent addition of a 
gallon of hot, the beans were found, at the end of 2 hours, far 
from tender, and quite tasteless. Their weight was now h\ 
lbs. The water left from cooking measured 2^ pints. 

The beans in both these experiments fell far below the 
standard of excellence claimed for them by M. Masson, and 
struck the Board as a very inferior j, unmanageable article of 
food. 

GREEN PEAS— PETITS POIS. 

Experiment 19. 5 rations neatly put up in a small bottle 
well stoppered, and the cork covered with a thick layer of 
wax. The peas, thoroughly dry, were somewhat shriveled 
in appearance, of a pleasant smell, and of no very decided 
taste. Their weight was 5i ozs. net. This quantity, after 
immersion for half an hour in .3 pints of water at 100° F., 
weighed 111 ozs. The peas swelled to nearly their natural 
size ; and, though still hard and wrinkled, they bore a strong 
resemblance, in sensible qualities, to the fresh vegetable. 
The water of immersion now measured 2i pints, and had a 
mawkish taste. The peas were next placed over the fire in 
3 pints of water, (including that of immersion,) and the 
boiling commenced; but before its completion, 5 pints of hot 
water were added. After 2? hours of brisk ebullition, the 
peas were found nearly done, and of a flavor which assimi- 
lated them closely to the fresh vegetable. Seasoned with 
salt and butter, they made a decidedly palatable dish. Their 
weight had increased to 14i ozs. The water left from cook- 
ing amounted to U pints, was very high colored, and of a 
sweetish taste. 



52 

ExPERiMEN-T 20. A sample^ taken from a bottle put up 
ill (he same modej was ascertained to weigh 5i ozs. It differed,' 
in no respect, from the former specimen. Immersed half an 
hour ia 3 pints of water at 60° F., its v/eight increased to 
7h ozs.; and there remained of the water of immersion SfJ 
pints. The peas were only slightly swollen. The water of 
immersion having been rejected, 3 quarts of cold fresh water 
were now poured upon them ; and the vessel was set on the 
fire to boil. Before ihe process was finished, it became ne- 
cessary to add one quart of boiling water. At the end of 
2,L hours of active boiling, the peas were found to be tolerably 
soft, and to manifest a natural taste, color, and smell. Their 
weight was I lb. H pints of water remained after the cook- 
ing was concluded. 

The Board consider the peas, petits pois, to retain the 
physical properties of the fresh vegetable in a high degree, 
and (under circumstances where it is convenient to subject 
them to a 3 hours' hard boiling) as being an excellent substi- 
tute for the latter, when it is not to be had. 



GANNAL'S DESICCATED VEGETABLES. 

In the instructions laid down by Gannal, we have particular 
directions for preparing each of his vegetable aliments for the 
table. As the Board have complied strictly with them in 
cooking each article, it will not be incumbent on us here to 
enter into details. Suffice it to say that, for most substances, 
he directs an immersion in cold water, properly salted, for a 
period which is longer or shorter, according to the nature of 
the vegetable used, and afterwards a thorough cooking over 
a fire (at first moderate) for about 15 minutes. Preserved 
potato, tapioca Franpais, requires no immersion before cook- 
ing; cabbage, an immersion in tepid water for a couple of 
hours; and carrots and turnips an immersion for 6 or 8 hours. 

The various vegetables put up by M. Gannal were pre- 
sented to us in a good state of preservation. His finer arti- 
cles are in glass; but the inferior kinds are, as he states, 
stowed in wooden boxes fined with zinc. Part of those we 
examined were in bottles carefully corked, and covered with 



63 

thick foil; and the remainder in stout unglazed paper. In 
neither case did the moisture of the air appear to have af- 
fected the vegetables; none of which had been compressed. 

POTATO— TAPIOCA FRANgAIS. 

Experiment 21. This substance was in glass. It con- 
sisted of small, light, worm- shaped particles, having a farina- 
ceous, not unpleasant, taste, and a pale straw color. Very 
few black specks were interspersed through the mass, which 
was in an excellent state of preservation, being perfectly dry, 
and entirely free from mustiness of smell. The same sample 
was used in all our trials. 2 ozs. were cooked for 10 minutes 
near a hot fire in 10 ozs. of boiling water, with a view to pre- 
pare the soup so much lauded by Gannal; but, instead of it, 
we obtained a species of mush, resembhng mashed turnips, 
with a faint potato-like odor, and which made a very palatable 
dish when seasoned with butter and salt. 

Experiment 22 was undertaken in order to prepare the 
substitute for mashed potatoes spoken of by Gannal. Tv/o 
ozs. of the potato were cooked in 5 ozs. of boiling water for 
10 minutes; and, when removed from the fire, we found it 
much charred, adherent to the sides of the vessel, but ex- 
haling the odor, and having the taste of baked potatoes. In 
both these trials the quantity of water used (which was that 
directed by M. Gannal) was much too small to accomplish 
the object in view ; and, therefore, our results do not corres- 
pond with those promised by the manufacturer. The pro- 
duct, in both, was easily reduced, by pressure with a spoon, 
to the consistency of mashed potatoes. 

Experiment 23. The same quantity of the potato was 
next treated in the same way, with four times the propor- 
tion of boiling water, and yielded a mass more discolored 
than common mashed potatoes, but of about the same con- 
sistency, and of rather a raw taste. The granules were 
easily mashed. On the whole, this preparation was less 
palatable than the two former, where GannaPs directions as to 
quantities of the potato and water were observed. 

Experiment 24. (For Soup.) In order to give this 
substance a fairer trial than it appeared to have had in the 
trials where it became charred, the proportions were varied. 
^ of a pint of the potato, weighing 2 ozs., was boiled for 30 



54 

minutes in 5 pints of water^ which stood at 212° F., at the 
commencement of the process. The result was a thin mea- 
gre pottage, in which the still uncooked potato grains sank 
in a layer to the bottom of the vessel. The soup, so called, 
measured 2^ pints. The Board did not deem it either a 
grateful, or a wholesome dish. 

Experiment 25. (For Porridge.) We boiled 3i ozs. 
in 3 pints of water for twenty minutes ; at the end of which 
time the vessel containing it was removed from the fire.— 
An excellent porridge measuring ItV pints was the result. 

These experiments were performed with the greatest 
care ; and, although some of them did not result as well as 
could have been desired, enough was learned to give the 
Board a high opinion of the substance as a dietetic article. 
Of itself, a very neat and clean preparation, evidently made 
from the best selected roots, and possessing in its cooked 
state a flavor nearly approaching the fresh vegetable, its bulk 
is the only objection to its general use on board vessels of 
War. For the sick, however, it could be used with advan- 
tage as an aliment. 

In reference to its merits, when compared with the cor- 
responding articles prepared by Edwards and Masson, the 
Board are clearly convinced of its great superiority to both, 
and especially to that of Edwards. 

CABBAGE— CHOUX. 

Experiment 26. This was done up in white paper in the 
form of a thin brick, and gave a net weight of 1 lb. 9\ ozs. 
The stems and leaves of the plant were in a perfectly dis- 
tinct state, and could by picking be readily separated from 
each other. It was very dry. The preparation had a feeble 
taste and smell of cabbage, was on the whole rather a dirty 
looking article, and resembled very much the dried leaves of 
tobacco in general appearance. Separated and immersed 
for two hours in 15 pints of fresh water at 98° F., it gave a 
weight of 5 lbs. 14 ozs.; and emitted a most offensive odor. 
The water of immerdon, left after the draining of the cab- 
bage, measured 10^ pints. The cabbage was now put to 
boil in 9 quarts of cold water (throwing away that of immer- 
sion,) and to this was afterwards added i gallon. For 4^ 
hours a most active cooking was kept up over an intensely 



55 

hot fire. Deeming it useless to persist longer, the cabbage 
was then taken from the fire and drained. Its weight had 
increased to 9 lbs. The water left after cooking measured 
7-k pints. The cabbage appeared to be sufficiently boiled, 
but it was tasteless and totally unfit to be eaten. 
The Board condemned it as a worthless article. 

" CARROTS— GAROTTES. 

Experiment 27. These were in glass, were free from 
moisture and were otherwise apparently in the best condition. 
The mode of putting them up was perfectly unexceptionable, 
being contained in a bottle well corked, and covered with 
foil. They were in separate long slices, and had very much 
the color, taste, &c.., of the recent plant. 1 pint weighing 
4x1 ozs., immersed for 12 hours in cold salted water suffi- 
cient to cover them, was found to have increased in weight to 1 
lb. 2iozs. The slices were considerably swelled, crisp and well 
flavored. The water left from immersion measured 1 1'pints, 
and had a sweetish taste. It was thrown away. Boiled for 
2 hours in 6 pints of fresh water (at Q5° F. when the cook- 
ing commenced) the carrots were then strained, and weighed 
ItV lbs. They were soft, well flavored, and, when seasoned 
with butter and salt, made a palatable dish. 

The Board consider it an excellent preparation of its kind, 
but possibly too bulky for general use at sea. If such an 
aliment were required for the use of the sick, the Board 
would think this preparation well adapted to the purpose. 

TURNIPS— NA VETS. 

Experiment 28. These also were put up in bottles, and 
were in good condition. They were in separate, long slices, 
of a dull whitish color, and of the smell and taste of turnips. 
One pint of these slices, weighing 3tV ozs., was steeped for 
8 hours in a sufficient quantity of salted water to cover them. 
When taken out they were found swelled and crisp, with 
the natural flavor of turnips. Their weight was now 13|- ozs. 
The water of immersion was of the color of brandy, and of 
a sweetish taste : it measured l^ pints, and was thrown away. 
The turnips, well drained, were next boiled U hours in 4 
pints of fresh water (at 6.5° when the process began) until 
about one oz. only of a thick blackish sweet liquid was left. 



56 

After draining, the turnips weighed lA lbs., and were still in 
distinct pieces. Generally the pieces were well softened, 
and easily mashed; but some remained tough and leathery. 
Their taste and smell were those of the boiled fresh vegeta- 
ble. 

The Board deem them a pretty fair article. But the tur- 
nip is at best a watery and sparingly nutritious vegetable, 
of little value as food for man. 

JULIENNE— (FOR MAKING SOUP.) 

ExPERiMEi^T. 29. This was in a botde, and was com- 
posed of 10 different kinds of vegetables, arranged in layers, 
and all in a perfectly dry state. The weight of the con- 
tents was 1 lb. 2i ozs. The whole boiled for 3 hours in 21 
quarts of water at first cold, gave a soup of a very good fla- 
vor, and requiring but the addition of some simple condi- 
ment to render it delicious. 

The Board consider it a very fine preparation of its class. 

SUCCORY— WILD ENDIVE— CHICOREE. 

Experiment 30. This was put up in the same way ; and 
its condition as to dryness was equally good. It was com- 
posed of what appeared to be the leaves and smaller stems 
of the plant in a state of minute division. The odor was 
mawkish, and the taste slightly mucilaginous. The net 
weight amounted to 2tV ozs. This quantity was immersed 
in 6 pints of salted water at 65° F., and found after draining 
to have undergone but litde change, except in weight, which 
now amounted to 15 ozs. The water of immersion was 
high colored, and had fallen to 51 pints. The succory was 
then boiled for U hours in the water of immersion. It was 
found at the end of the process altogether too hard to be 
eaten, very unsavory as a dish, and, indeed, to have little 
more flavor than the most common weed. The water in 
which it was cooked, exhibited a very dirty and disgusting 
appearance, and possessed the same disagreeable taste as the 
plant. 

The Board condemned the succory as a worthless article. 

PARSLEY— PERSIL. 

Experiment 31. The specimen, submitted to the Board, 

was in a loose and open paper, but in a perfectly dry condi- 



57 

tion. It was composed of the parsley plant tied up into 
litde bundles ; the whole of which were gently pressed to- 
gether into the brick form. When chewed^ the substance 
had a parsley like taste, and the smell of well dried hay. 
1 pint of it, weighing 1 oz., was boiled for 21 hours, in 4 
pints of salted water (at 65° F. when the process began) to 
which was added, meanwhile, 1 quart of boiling water ; and 
the substance was then deemed sufficiently tested. When 
strained, it weighed 4i- ozs., and was far from being suffi- 
ciently softened or cooked throughout. It had a deep grass- 
green color, a most disgusting taste, and almost as unpleas- 
ant an odor. No water was left from the cooking. 

The Board infer from this trial that it is a worthless article 
for Naval purposes. 

SORREL— OSEILLE. 

Experiment 32. This article was put up in thick white 
paper, in the form of a brick, with leaves of paper between 
the layers. It was thoroughly dry, of a dark-green hue, and 
had no particular odor or taste. One pint of the plant, 
weighing l/ij ozs., was put into 4 pints of water at 65° F., 
and boiled two hours; when it was strained, and found to 
weigh 7i ozs. It was perfectly cooked, and had rather an 
acid taste. The water, left after the draining was finished, 
amounted to I pint, and was of a deep brandy-color, with 
the taste and smell of the cooked plant. 

The Board consider this specimen of the sorrel a tolerably 
good article of itself, but do not know of any circumstances 
under which it should be preferred at sea to articles of quite 
as easy access now in general use. 

CAULIFLOWER— CHOU FLEUR. 

Experiment 33. The cauliflower was contained in glass, 
and appeared to be in perfectly good order. It had the 
heavy, disagreeable smell, and the taste of common garden 
cabbage. One pint, weighing 3 ozs., was boiled for 1 hour 
and 10 minutes, in 4 pints of properly salted water, cold when 
the vegetable was put into it. This cooked it thoroughly. 
When allowed to drain it weighed 15-iV ozs. The water left 
from cooking measured \h pints, was of rather a high color, 
and had the flavor of cabbage. 



The Board consider it an excellent article per se, but that 
its bulkiness and expensive parmim in mulio form would 
operate against its general use at sea^ except for the sick, and 
would limit its use for the crew to long voyages, as a preven- 
tive of disease. 

BUNCH BEANS. 
HARICOTS VERTS FLAGEOLETS. 

Experiment 34. These were put up in a bottle, and 
appeared to be in the best possible condition. The indi- 
vidual beans were but little shrunken, were of a dull yel- 
lowish color, without odor, and possessed the taste of the 
fresh bean in a faint degree. Their weight was 12tV ozs. 
Boiled for two hours in 8 pints of salted water, (at 6-5° F., 
when the process commenced,) and over a moderately hot 
fire, this quantity of beans had increased to HI- lbs. The 
beans had now regained the delicate hue and taste of the 
fresh vegetable, and were perfectly soft and mealy. In size 
and general appearance, they quite rivalled it. The water 
remaining from cooking amounted to 3 pints. 

The Board were very favorably impressed with the quali- 
ties of this vegetable when boiled, and look upon it as a 
valuable dietetic article for the Hospital Department of ships 
of war. 

MUSHROOMS— CHAMPIGNONS. 

Experiment 35. These also were put up in glass. Their 
odor and taste were those of the natural plant, and their state 
of preservation good. They weighed 211 ozs. Immersed 
for iO minutes in 3 pints of boiling water, they became 
swollen, and increased in weight to 13tV ozs. The water 
had' been reduced to 2^ pints, and became imbued with the 
odor of mushrooms. After draining, the mushrooms were 
cooked in 3 ozs. of ohve oil, examined repeatedly, and, after 
a long cooking, were still tough and crude. At the end of 
two hours they became charred, and were not fit to be used 
for food. The directions of Gannal for preparing them were 
followed as nearly as possible; but they were very inexplicit. 

The Board could form no opinion in the case, (there 
being no other bottle with which to repeat the experiment,) 
except from the appearance of the vegetable before the ex- 



59 

periment was entered upon; and this recalled the fresh plant 
to a very fair extent. 

BRUSSELS CABBAGE— CHOU DE BRUXELLES. 

Experiment 36. In glass, and quite dry. This specimen 
was composed of very small heads of cabbage, having a deli- 
cate green hue, and rather a mawkish taste and smell. Their 
weight was Is ozs. This quantity was boiled for 1 hour and 
20 minutes in salted water; and, when removed from the 
fire, the heads were found quite done. Their taste was 
sweetish; bat both this and the odor had a dash of the com- 
mon cabbage. Drained and weighed, they came up to 5H ozs. 
The water, remaining from the cooking, amounted to | pint. 
The heads were scarcely increased by the cooking. Properly 
dressed, and seasoned with butter and salt, or a htile vinegar, 
they formed a highly palatable dish. 

The Board are ignorant of any other use to apply them to 
in the navy than as dainties for officer's messes. 

SPINAGE— EPINARDS. 

Experiment 37. In glass, and in good condition. It is 
composed of minute, leaf-hke portions, which have a pale 
green color and sickening taste, and an odor somewhat like 
that of fresh spinage. The weight of the contents of the 
bottle was 3^ ozs. This, having been steeped for two hours 
in 8 pints of cold water, and then drained, had increased in 
weight to 1 lb. 4i ozs., was of a beautiful grass-green, but 
retained the obnoxious taste and smell. The water of im- 
mersion presented much the same properties ; it measured 
6i pints. In this water the plant was boiled for two hours, 
and found to be perfectly well cooked. It weighed, when 
drained, lA lb., and had improved in neither taste nor smell ; 
but, on the contrary, was, if possible, more disagreeable than 
before. The water left from the cooking measured 3 pints, 
was of a dirty greenish color, and had a mawkish flavor. 

The Board rejects this spinage as utterly worthless. 

ONIONS— OGNONS. 

Experiment 38. These were in small pieces, and had 
been exposed to the air in loose paper. Nevertheless, they 



60 

were quite free from moisture. Their taste, smelly and 
general appearance were those of the fresh plant. 1 oz. was 
boiled in half a pint of salted water, (at 65° F., when the 
cooking commenced,) and, after the addition of 1 pint of 
boiling water, was considered cooked, in about H hours. 
The vegetables now possessed the sensible qualities of the 
onion in a high degree. Their weight, when drained^ was 
4 oz. The water left from the boiling measured i pint. 

Those fond of this bulb, pronounced this specimen of it 
delicious. 

BEETS— BETTERAVES. 

Experiment 39. These were composed of transverse, 
well dried, hard slices, with the color and taste of the fresh 
beet. They had been exposed to the air in loose paper, 
without injury. 1 oz. of them was steeped, for 12 hours, in 
equal parts of cold vinegar and water, just sufficient to cover 
them. When drained, they weighed 3i ozs., and were quite 
tender. Their flavor and appearance were excellent. 

Experiment 40. 1 oz. from the same sample was put into 
1 quart of fresh cold water, and kept boiling for 1| hours. 
By this process, its weight increased to 5 ozs., and the vege- 
table became tender, and acquired the taste of cooked beets 
recently from the garden. The water left measured 2 ozs. 

These beets are a good and palatable article, well adapted, 
in the opinion of the Board, for general use in the navy, 
whether as an aliment, or simply as b. pickle ; though, in this 
latter respect, they are not superior to that now used in the 
navy. 



DE LIGNAC'S CONSERVE OF MILK. 

The directions given to prepare this substance for use as 
an article of food, are very simple. One part of the conserve 
boiled for a moment with 5 times the quantity of water, 
forms a milky fluid, which is stated to be ready for the table, 
without the addition of sugar. 



61 



Three tin canisters 


of " Preserved Milk" were submitted 


to us for examination, 
lb. 


Their weights were, respectively, 
oz. ds. 


1, 

1. 


8, 10, ^ 

8, 3, > gross ; the average of which 

9, 10, 3 is 1 lb. 8 ozs., 13 dr. When 



opened, the conserve appeared in the form of a semi-translu- 
cent, cream-colored paste, which emitted the smell of boiled 
milk, and had a very sweet taste. The paste was soft and ho- 
mogeneous, and looked much like certain kinds of butter. Its 
sugar crackled between the teeth, and obviously entered 
liberally into the compound. 

Experiment 41. 3 ozs. of the conserve, being treated 
with a proper quantity of water heated to 90° F., was brought 
to the boiling point as quickly as possible. Though the 
treatment conformed strictly to the directions of the inventor, 
the result was not satisfactory. The mixture presented the 
blue appearance of thin milk and water ; it had some oily par- 
ticles floating on the surface, and was, moreover, pervaded 
by a quantity of curdy lumps throughout. 

Experiment 42. The same proportions were employed ; 
but the water was 100° F. at first; and the paste was assisted in 
combining with the water by the pressure of the spoon. On 
boiling a lew minutes, we obtained a richer looking prepara- 
tion than the former; but there were still lumps of the curdy 
substance interspersed, though to a less degree than in the 
former trial. 

Experiment 43. In this instance, with the same propor- 
tions, (3 ozs. to 15 ozs.,) care was taken to incorporate 
thoroughly the paste with water of a temperature of 100° 
before setting the mixture on the fire to boil. By this means 
there resulted a milky looking preparation, which was per- 
fectly homogeneous in its composition, and displayed a large 
quantity of yellowish, oily particles on the top. Not the 
slightest trace of curd was now visible. The taste was very 
saccharine, and not a little like boiled cow's milk over-sweet- 
ened. After standing in a covered vessel for 20 hours, it was 
siill sweet, with the odor of boiled milk ; and there had risen 
to the surface a larger quantity of the butter-like matter. 

In the absence of any certain knowledge as to the precise 
mode in which the ^^ conserve" is prepared, and well ap- 



62 

prized of the great extent to which the adulteration of milk 
is carried in France, the Board refraiji from doing more than 
detailing the trials they have made with it, and the changes 
it has appeared to them to undergo, without venturing upon 
any recommendation as to its employment in the navy, or 
elsewhere. 

The following tahle presents a synoptical view of the pre- 
ceding experiments, arranged in the order in which they have 
just been recorded : 





























<u 

B 
3 


Article experimented 


Is 

5.2 


5, -<*H e ' 
aj bx) o .- "3 

5 CU .-. ctf cu c 

CC K 'I* r^ t- S 


^§ 

O o 

v. 

_ o 

O g 


.a 2 
■^ CI 




§ H-S 

t. ■- O 

O OJ O 


o 
d 


u2Don. 


r^ "m 


t c 
Q ^ 


bJ3.,o O 






S 


lbs. 


02 


galls. 


qts. 


pts. 


h. 


m. 


lbs. 


oz. 


dr. 




Edicarcls' 






















1 


Patent preserved potato. 




IS 










15 




• 


• 




2 


a 




12 








• 


15 




• 


• 


• • 


3 


(e 


1 












15 




• 




.. 


4 


it 

Masson's 


1 


• 




• 






15 








•• 


5 


Potato 




2 


• 


• 




1 


5 




3 




1 50 


6 


CI 




2 








1 




• 


7 




3.50 


■ 7 


Cabbage - - . - 




4 




2 




3 


30 


1 


13 


8 


. 6.84 


8 


"• 




7 


1 






3 


30 


3 


1 


12 


6.75 


9 


Carrots - - _ . 




4 


. 


1 




2 


45 


1 


9 


4 


5.25 


10 


u 




4 




1 




2 


45 


1 


11 


8 


5.95 


n 


Turnip ----- 




5 


2 






3 


15 


1 


11 


12 


5.48 


12 


" 




4 


• 


. 




3 


30 


1 


11 




5.61 


13 


Julienne - - - - 




9 


• 


3 




4 




3 


3 




5.37 


14 


" 




4 




2 




3 


15 


1 


9 




5.13 


15 


Succory - - - - 




4 


1 


2 




3 


30 


2 


7 




8.67 


16 


Parsley - - . - - 




3 




3 


1 I 

•^2 


3 


30 


• 


13 




4,00 


17 


String Beans - - - 




2 




1 




2 


15 


• 


12. 




5.65 


18 


" 




2 


1 






2 




1 


2 




7.58 


19 


Green Peas - - - 




5 




2 




2 


3U 


1 


14 


4 


5.76 


20 


Gavnal's 




5 


• 


• 




2 


30 


1 


• 




3.05 


21 


'Preserved Potato- - 




2 


.' 








10 


•. 


11 


8 


5.75 


22 


(( 




2 










10 


' 


2 


10 


1.31 


23 


i( 




2 










10 











63 

TABLE. 







.§o 


S 




S i 


for 




ater 
fter 

by 


\1%A 


'Bi" 


l='°--i 


0) si 


11 


5 S =" 




Article experimented 


|5 


Ig 




^•2 


1 ^>- CO wi'i mS c.|^ = 


XC 




s 


*— CD 


Be '5 


1 


upon. 


fM 


bus 




c <u § 


S-3I Is s|i ■&£ .^'it 


II 


^ ^2 ^ ~^ g C 


Q ^ 


|l§ 


In 


'A 


lb 


. n... 


ilrs. 


lbs. 


oz. 


drs. 


alls. 


qts. pts 


Pahr't. h. r 


a. qts. 


pts. Ibsoz 


dr. 


;alls. 


qts. 


pts. 


galls. 


qts. 


pts. 


h. 


a,. 


lbs. 


0.. 


dr. 


' 


E(ZitYn"(/s' 


























boil'g 






















1 


^atent preserved potato. 














































2 


" 


12 
























1 


lOilV 










5 










3 


,, 


1 


























3 










5 






































roll's 




















4' 


Jlfosoii's 


1 


























3 










15 










5 


Potato 


. 2 






3 


6 




. 


110 1 




11 • 


1 6 1.69 






1 








1 


5 




3 




1.50 


6 


,, 


2 






3 


5 






t 65 2 


15 . 


\% ■ 


1 5 1.66 






2 








1 






7 




3.50 


• 7 


Cabbage - - - - 


. 4 


5 




5 






2 


90 . 


30 1 


1 1 


.11 4.87 


1 


1 


n 




2 




3 


30 




13 


8 


6.84 


8 




. 7 


6 




5 






5 


90 . 


30 3 


. 1 1 


310 5.00 


s 


2 










3 


30 




1 


12 


6.75 


9 


Carrots - - - - 


. 4 


13 












1 110 . 


30 1 


A -1 


1 3 3.32 


*■ 


2 


1 v 




1 




2 


45 




9 


4 


5.25 


10 


,i 


. 4 


10 




13 


8 






78 . 


3U . 


1| • 


814 2.92 




3 


] 




1 




- 


45 




11 


e 


5.95 


11 


Turnip - - - - - 


. 5 


1 




9 








1 110 . 


30 . 


IJ i 


315 4.94 




3 


• J 










15 




11 


12 


5.48 


12 


,, 


4 


13 




4 


4 






1 65 . 


30 . 


Hi -1 


5 7 4.21 




3 


1 










31 


1 


11 




5.61 


13 




. 9 


8 




9 


8 






65 • 


38 1 


. 2 


. . 4.37 


2 


1 






3 




4 






3 




5.37 






4 


14 




6 








1 90 . 


30 1 


. 1 


1 2 4.82 


*1 


1 


1 




2 




'- 


15 




9 




5.13 


15 




4 


8 




9 








1 98 . 


30 1 


n 1 


4 8 5.56 


2 


1 






2 




3 


30 




7 




8.67 


16 


Parsley - - . - - 


3 

. 2 


4 
2 




13 


12 






1 90 . 
. 110 . 


30 1 
30 1 


. • 1 

n ■ 


8 4.23 
5 2 3.41 


(1 

(1 


3 


;ii 




3 

1 


" 


3 
2 


30 
15 




12 




5.65 


1/ 


String Beans - - - 
































2 
2 
2 






(, 






18 
19 
20 


Green Peas - - - 


. 2 
5 
5 


6 

4 
4 





11 

7 


12 

8 






1 60 - 
1 100 . 
1 60 


30 1 
30 1 
30 1 


H ■ 
n ■ 


310 2.53 
6 8 2.24 
2 4 1.43 


"1 


3 






2 




30 
30 




14 


4 


5.76 
3.05 
































tl-o- 










in 




11 


8 


5.75 


21 


Preserved Potato - - 


2 
. 2 












. ^ 


k 212 
^B- 212 












tA 










10 




2 


10 


1.31 


2i: 




























til 










10 














. 2 












. : 


l\ 212 
















1 












2 


" 


1 




1 














' 



























INUED 




































a 
W) 

'.S .2 
'3 'm 


Si 

0) 


Relative proportion 

of weight before & 
after immersion. 


(Quantity of water 
used in cooking. 


CLuantily of water 
used in cooking, 
being part of that 
staled in preceding 
column. 


p 

0) .5 

"" "o 
^ c 
o o 

a ° 

£ S 

r-; O 


Weight of tJie sub- 
stance after cook- 
ing. 




Relative proportion of 
weight before immer- 
sion & after cooking. 


. pts. 


lbs 


oz 


dr. 




gails. 


qts. 


pts. 


galis. 


qts. 


pts. 


h. 


ni. 


lbs. 


oz. 


dr. 




















(m 


easu 


^ 




, 










t 


2 


1 










30 


\ ri ng 2 


( 


7.00 




























I i 


pts. 


) 






























C m 


easu 




^ 












t 


1 


1 










20 


< 


rmg 




( . . 


' 2 


4 


4 


12 


3.72 


2 


3 






2 




4 


15 


8 


14 


pt. 


5.62 


ll 




9 


11 


3.79 




3 










1 


30 


1 


1 




3.53 


n 




9 


11 


3.82 


5 


2 
1 










1 

3 


30 


1 


1 




4.95 


! 11 




12 


11 


6.49 


tl 


t 
#3 

f2 

t2 


H 








1 
2 
2 
1 
2 


45 
45 

10 


1. 

1 


4 

7 

15 

13 


12 

4 
4 

7 


7.24 
4.25 
5.52 
5.15 
2.33 


1 

L 3 




10 


11 


4.72 


oliv 


e oil 
fl 


3oz. 








2 
1 


20 




5 


13 


5.17 


! 1 


1 


1 




5.86 


{be 
1 w 


3 


i 


^ . 






2 




1 


3 




5.43 












ing t 


he 


^ 




























ater 


of 




























l^iin 


mer 


sion. 


J 




1 


1 


35 




4 




4.00 


vr.w. 










( no 
^re 


cook 


ing 


} 










( of 


pick 
beet 


I'd 

s. 


I 


u 


* 


2 


4 


3.25 


qun- 


ed. 


i- 










I • 


3 


4 


) 


• 








•• 


• 


fl 




1 • 






I 


45 


• 


4 


12 




• 


* 

• 


•• 




•• 


• 


t- 




if 
if 
If 


> , 


. 


• 




5 
5 
5 










fWate 


rof 


iir 


me 


rsion. 





























65 

After we had terminated the examinations and experiments^ 
which we have just recorded, on the various ahmentary sub- 
stances, submitted to us, at the commencement, by the Chief 
of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, he laid before us, 
for examination, 

A tin canister of Edwards' ^^ Patent Preserved Potato," 

A bottle of the " Preserved Potato" of Messrs. Lewis, of 
Boston, and 

A tin canister of De Lignac's Preserved Milk, (conserve 
delait.) 

These we examined, and submitted to experiments similar 
to those fully detailed, with the previous articles. The sub- 
stances hke the former, were carefully put up, and in good 
preservation. 

The canisterof Edwards' potato contained about a pint. The 
granules were like those in the large cases, except that they 
were much clearer, lighter colored, and freer from dark 
specks, and from unpleasant smell and taste. 

Treated hke the former specimens, they had a crude and 
foreign taste, and were pronounced, by all who tried them, 
to be '^bad.^^ 

Lewis' preserved potato was in the form of irregular 
granules, of a dull yellowish color, with few dark specks, and 
otherwise clear, as if it had been carefully prepared. It was 
perfectly dry, and had a natural taste and odor. 

Submitted to trials like those made with Edwards' potato, 
it gave a result of which we thought favorably, and which 
wanted, we may suppose, but the hand of the culinary artiste 
to render it an excellent dish of mashed potato. 

The preserved milk of De Lignac, which resembled, in 
every respect, the specimens before submitted to us, gave, on 
a repetition of the experiments, a repetition of results like 
those already recorded ; forming, when merely boiled for a 
few moments, agreeably to the direction of the manufacturer, 
with five times its amount of water, a sweet, thin, milky fluid, 
fihed with curdy masses, but, when carefully combined with 
the hot water by persevering malaxation with a spoon before 
boiling, constituting a homogeneous fluid, free from curds, 
and consequently richer than the former, and not distin- 
guishable in taste, smell, and appearance, from sweetened 
boiled milk, and, in either case, presenting, on cooling, a 



64 
T A BL E .—Continued . 




f> Jnctuding Uiat of immexsiOQ. 



t Water of immersion. 



66 

superficial layer of yelloWj fatty, or buttery globules. The 
only additional observation, which we made on this "con- 
serve," was the exposure of part of it to the open air for a 
fortnight, at the end of which time, it had undergone no sen- 
sible change; nor did it give, when treated with boiling 
water, any impaired result. 

With a result thus favorable, so far s.s the sensible quali- 
ties, and the keeping properties, of De Lignac's " conserve 
de lait'^ are concerned, tve cannot, nevertheless, depart from 
the reserve, before maintained^ in regard to it, by recommend- 
ing, for either general or partial use in the navy, an alimen- 
tary substance, of the mode of preparing which we have no 
certain knowledge, which is readily susceptible of sophisti- 
cation, and of the genuineness of which we have no satisfac- 
tory assurance.* 

Having now concluded our experiments on the various 
alimentary substances submitted to us, we will present, in 
one view, the opinions at which we arrived in regard to them. 
Edwards' potato — " inferior." 
Masson's potatoes — " disagreeable." 

Do. cabbage — " very palatable." 

Do. carrots-— "excellent." 

Do. turnips — "worthless for the navy." 

Do. julienne — " meager." 

Do. succory — " worthless." 

Do. parsley — " worthless." 

Do. string beani^; — " inferior." 

Do. green peas — "excellent." 
GannaPs potato — " excellent." 

Do. cabbage — " worthless." 

Do. carrots — "excellent." 

Do. turnips — "pretty fair." 

Do. julienne — " very fine." 

Do. succory — " worthless." 

Do. parsley — " worthless." 

Do. sorrel — "' tolerably good." 

Do. cauliflower — " excellent." 



* It is proper to remark here that the "conserve de lait," submitted to us, was re- 
ceived by the Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, from M. De Lignac 
hmiself, who was represented to him as highly respectable, and who has a contract for 
supplying the French and English navies. 



67 

GannaPs bunch beans (flageolets) — " excellent." 
Do. mushrooms — '^^ not good." 
Do. Brussels sprouts — ^^ delicious dainties." 
~ Do. spinage — '^worthless." 
Do. onions — ^Melicious to onion eaters." 
Do. beets — '^^good as an aliment or pickle." 

De Lignac's "^ Preserved Milk" — " not recommended." 

Lewis' potato — " good." 

It will thus be seen that the only articles that, in our hands, 
proved themselves to be good, were the cabbage, carrots, and 
green peas of Masson ; the potato, carrots, turnips, julienne, 
sorrel, cauliflower, bunch beans (flageolets,) Brussels sprouts, 
onions, and beets of Gannal ; and the potato of Lewis. 

But the good quality of an aliment, that is, its property of 
being, when cooked, an agreeable and digestible article of 
food, though obviously its highest recommendation, is one 
only of a number of items in the question of its adaptability 
to the navy, either as an addition to the ration, as a substi- 
tute for some part of it, or as an article of hospital stores, 
and diet for the sick. Its nutritive properties, its keeping- 
properties, its volume, the amount of time, water, and fuel 
required for cooking it, and, perhaps also, its cost, enter es- 
sentially into this important question. 

The determination of the relative nutritive powers of the 
various alimentary substances has long occupied the atten- 
tion of the chemist and the physiologist. Although their 
researches have not led to absolutely uniform results; yet 
the proportion of solid matter, which each article contains, 
has been determined with considerable accuracy ; and there 
is a general agreement of opinion as to the positive and rela- 
tive amount of nutrient matter contained in the principal 
articles of food. 

Scales of nutritive equivalents have accordingly been made 
out, and will serve as a guide, in conjunction with our 
knowledge of the sensible qualities of an aliment, in estimat- 
ing its value as an article of food ; ever bearing in mind, 
however, the fact, estabhshed by a host of experiments, that 
variety of food is indispensable to animal subsistence ; that 
an article of food, beheved to possess little nutritive power, 
may, in combination with others, prove highly nutritive ; ihat 
an animal, fed on any one, even of the proteinaceous, and 



68 

highly nitrogenized aliments exclusively, will die of starva- 
tion ; and that a multiplicity and mixture of articles of food 
are necessary to maintain, not bodily vigor only, but animal 
hfe. 

The estimate of the nutritive value of an aliment is, in 
the absence of results derived from practical tests, usually 
based on the assumption that, in a mixed diet, which con- 
tains all the principles necessary for the nutrition and growth 
of the animal body, there is a relation between the propor- 
tion of nitrogen contained in food, and its nutritive quality. 
Though this assumption is apparendy opposed by the fact 
that some highly nitrogenized substances, considered singly, 
are believed to be little nutritive, yet it is generally adopted 
by physiologists as affording the safest foundation at present 
known, on which to estimate the value of an aliment as an 
article of food. 

We will, therefore, agreeably to the standard usually ap- 
pealed to, and in the absence of more certain knowledge to 
guide us in the appreciation of an article of food, exhibit the 
results of organic chemistry in its determination of the pro- 
portion of the solid matter, and also of the nitrogen, con- 
tained in some of the most important of the alimentary sub- 
stances, followed by a scale of the nutritive equivalents which 
chemists have deduced therefrom. 

The quantity of sohd matter, and of nitrogen, contained in 
100 parts of the following substances, is thus set down by 
chemists, whose results do not, however, always rigorously 
agree with each other. 

.Qlofnitrooren. 



Wheat 


^ t"- 


1 lo 1 \^\jin.aii 

Ci. 


90 




2.07 


11 ti i^gcii. 
do. 


Bean 




a 


85.13 


Ci 


3.66 


do. 


Pea 




a 


84.97 


cc 


3.57 


do. 


Rice 




a 


95.00 


cc 


1.32 


do. 


Potato 




cc 


24.10 


cc 


0.37 


do. 


Cabbage 




a 


7.70 


(f 


0.28 


do. 


Turnip 




u 


7.50 


cc 


0.17 


do. 


Agree 


ably 


to Boussingault's 


scale of nutritive equ 


ivalents, 


100 part 

107 " 


s of 


wheat flour are equal to 
wheat. 






56 '' 


(C 


beans. 











69 

810 parts of cabbage, or 83 parts of dried cabbage, 

177 " " rice, 

138 " " Indian corn, 
67 " '' peas, 

613 " " potatoes, or 126 parts of dried potatoes, 

757 ^' " carrots, " 95 ^' " carrots, 

1335 " '^ turnips. 

It thus appears that the turnip has little ahmentary value ; 
that ten lbs. and a half of fresh potatoes, or rather more than 
two pounds of the dried, are equal, in nutritive power, to one 
pound of meat ; that dried cabbage and carrot have a higher 
proportional nutritive value than wheat flour; and that even 
the fresh leguminous seeds, (as peas and beans,) are much 
more nutritious than the cereal grains. 

In view, then, of the importance of a varied diet for the 
preservation of health and strength, and, in particular, for the 
prevention of the development of the multiform scrofulous 
diseases so incident to sailors ; and in view, also, of the fact, fully 
established nearly a century ago, that the potato, in its cooked 
state, as well as in its raw, is a valuable anti-scorbutic, there 
is reason to beheve that, to the three articles of vegetable 
diet, (flour, beans, and rice,) which constitute the only vege- 
table ahments that enter into the navy ration at sea, the 
potato, cabbage, and carrot, in the concentrated form in which 
they are now prepared and preserved, might be very advan- 
tageously added ; not, however, for the purpose of increasing 
the amount of the ration, but to vary the diet, during long 
voyages, by alternating with the other vegetables. 

In regard to the third consideration, the keeping properties 
of the vegetables that were submitted to us, it is sufficient 
for us to remark that they have been in the possession of the 
Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing for nearly a 
year, and that they are, with unimportant exceptions, in a 
state of perfect preservation. 

Though we cannot speak from experience of the fact, we 
have no reason to believe that they would undergo greater 
changes, during a cruise in a hot and damp climate, than the 
biscuit, flour, beans, rice, corn-meal^, coffee, &c., &c., that 
form the chief vegetable aliments of every long voyage. 

The fourth consideration is the space they would occupy. 
This objection certainly cannot lie against Masson's com- 
9 



70 

pressed vegetables, in the compact form of tablets wrapped 
in tin foil, in which they are put up. jVor, in our opinion, 
will it lie against the beautifully prepared vegetables of Gan- 
nal, when put up in boxes with metallic hnings, as proposed 
by him, when designed for the crew ; whilst, if preferred, the 
more bulky and costly form of enclosure in bottles may be 
reserved for the hospital department, and for officers' messes. 

The fifth consideration, that we have mentioned, is the 
amount of fuel, water, and time required for cooking. A 
reference to our statement of the experiments will show that 
this was, in some cases, considerable ; whilst, on the contrary, 
in the case of the potato, the cooking was an affair of but a 
few moments. 

The last consideration, if it be a consideration, which we 
think belongs to the question of the use of these dried vege- 
tables in the navy, regards their cost. To the degree, then, 
in which expense will influence the ration, it will operate 
against the introduction into it of any of these substances ; for 
they cost more than its present vegetable constituents, as the 
following exhibit will show : 
Flour costs 3 cents per pound, for the navy. 
Rice do. 31 do. do. 

Beans do. ^1 70 per bushel, do. 

The prices of the dried vegetables are set down as fol- 
lows, viz : 

Cost of vegetables prepared by Chollet & Co., according 
to Masson's process. 



Cabbage, per 


Killogramme 


;, 4 francs. 


Carrots, 


do. 


4 do. 


Turnips, 


do. 


4 do. 


Julienne, 


do. 


4 do. 


Parsley, 


do. 


12 do. 


Succory, 


do. 


9 do. 


String Beans, 


do. 


12 do. 


Green Peas, 


do. 


12 do. 


Potato, ( in slic 


;es)do. 


1.50 do. 



Edwards' potato about 131 cents per pound. 

GannaPs prices are not believed to vary essentially from 
Masson's. (See table, page 36.) 

Lewis' potato will be furnished at 12i cents per pound 
by the quantity. 



71 

A kilogramme is 2 lb. 3 ozs. 5 dr., avoirdupois. 

A franc is 181 cents. 

100 grammes, or 3 ozs. 8| dr. of dried cabbage would be 
more than enough for a ration, and would cost about 7^ cents. 

In estimating the cost of rationing the navy, however, we 
should not lose sight of the large amount of provisions an- 
nually spoiled m the public store houses, or condemned on ship 
board and thrown into the sea. If the dried vegetables, now 
under consideration, should prove to keep better than the 
vegetable constituents of the present ration, to the degree in 
which they will do so, will their relative excess of cost be 
reduced. 

It remains for us, in concluding this report, merely to re- 
capitulate the results from the specimens submitted, and which 
were received by the Chief of the Bureau in person from 
Chollet & Co., Gannal, and Edwards, respectively. 

1st. We condemn Edwards' ^^ Preserved Potato" as posi- 
tively bad. 

2d. Of Masson's vegetables, we found the cabbage, carrots 
and green peas, of good quahty, and making after long cook- 
ing, excellent dishes. The cabbage and carrots were com- 
pressed, and covered with tin foil. Their compactness and 
good quality would, therefore, commend them for general 
use in the JMavy. The peas were uncompressed ; and 
though an excellent vegetable, they do not, we think, possess 
any very marked advantage, as a constituent of the ration, 
over the bean now in use, and so especially the favorite of 
sailors. 

3d. Of Gannal's vegetables, the potato, carrots, turnips, 
julienne, sorrel, cauliflower, bunch beans, flageolets, Brussels 
sprouts, onions and beets answered the commendations of the 
manufacturer, and proved good in our hands. They were 
all beautifully put up, and made excellent dishes. Should they, 
however, be deemed too costly as parts of the established 
ration under ordinary circumstances ; the potato, carrots and 
cauliflowers, at least, m ight very advantageously enter into 
the ration of the crew during long voyages, as preventives 
of disease; and especially would they, as also the haricots 
verts flageolets, form valuable additions to the usual hospital 
stores, and for officers' messes. 

4th. Lewis' ^Treserved Potato" we foundgood, though not so 



72 

beautiful a preparation as that of Gannal. It might, in con- 
junction with some of the former, be advantageously given 
to the crew in long voyages as a change of diet, so important 
to health, and as a valuable preventive of scurvy. 

5th. De Lignac's " conserve de lait,'' we cannot venture 
to recommend, not knowing what it is. 

Cth. Lastly. We, therefore, respectfully recommend, with 
a view to test the applicability of any of these dried vegetables 
to the Navy, that a quantity, sufficient for trial, of the cab- 
bages and carrots of Masson, of the cauliflowers and carrots 
of Gannal, and of the potato of Gannal and Lewis, be 
placed on board of two or three of our national ships, to be 
served out to the crew, once a week, during long voyages, 
either in place of rice and cheese, or in addition to the es- 
tablished ration ; and also that, with a similar view, they, 
together with the haricots verts flageolets, be added to the 
usual Hospital Stores for invalids, during long voyages. 
We have the honor to be, with great respect. 

Your obedient servants, 
B. WASHINGTON, 

Surgeon U. S. JVavy. 
GEO. CLYMER, 

Surgeon U. S. J\avy. 
J. BEAL, 

Surgeon U. S. JYavy, 
Hon. Wm. A. Graham, 

Secretary of the J^avy. 



73 

U. S. Store Ship Relief, at Sea, 

May 27th, 1852. 
Sir: 

In obedience to your order of May 3d, 1852, we have tested 
the qualities of "Edwards' preserved potato" during several 
weeks at our mess table, and have found them wholesome, 
palatable, and worthy of recommendation as a substitute for 
the common Irish potato at sea. 

We are sir, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servants, 
GEO. M. RANSOM, Acting Master. 
WM. H. WILCOX, Passed Midshipman. 
JNO. E. HART, Passed Midshipman. 
Lieut. Comd't H. E. Thatcher, 
Comd'g U. S. Store Ship Relief. 



U. S. Ship Relief, at Sea, 

27th May, 1852. 
Sir: ■ 

To the above, I beg leave to add that, after having- 
thoroughly tested Edwards' patent preserved potato, I am 
satisfied that it is an invaluable article for long voyages, and 
I cannot too highly recommend it to the Bureau. 
I am sir, with great respect. 

Your obedient servant, 
HENRY K. THATCHER, 

Lieut. Comd'g. 
Wm. Sinclair, Esq., 

Chief of Bureau of Provisions and Clothings 
Washington. 



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